Product Description

When his son Sean was three years old, John Lennon drew a series of magical, whimsical animal illustrations to help him learn to read. These simple reflections of John's love, humor, and affection for his young son have never been presented to the public before. Random House is honored to present Friends, a collection of forty drawings by a man who was one of the great cultural icons of the twentieth century--poet, songwriter, artist, activist, and the most outspoken member of one of the greatest rock groups of all time.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #684462 in Books
• Published on: 1999-05-18
• Released on: 1999-05-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 48 pages

Amazon.com Review
John Lennon had two opportunities to be a father. His first son, Julian, was born in 1963 at the dawning of Beatlemania. The impact of the Beatles' success on John and Julian's relationship? Suffice to say Paul McCartney wrote "Hey Jude" as a gesture of sympathy to a forlorn young Julian. Fatherhood fit John Lennon far better the next time around when the indulgent daddy, then in his late 30s, put his musical career on hold to indulge his second son, Sean. Evidence of Lennon the doting dad can be found in this 48-page collection of sun-drenched illustrations sketched out to entertain a toddling offspring. The once-caustic ex-Beatle betrays not a hint of his scathing side in these vivid drawings. Rather, the witty punster who was dubbed the "smart Beatle" after he published the prose collection In His Own Write in 1964 is in full flower here. An illustration christened "Collieflower" shows a budding plant with the face of a canine; "A Frog Pondering" displays a reflective amphibian overlooking a puddle. Real Love is the kind of book that will capture the attention of Beatles collectors, but it should also spark the imaginations of its intended audience--little Lennonists in the making. --Steven Stolder

From School Library Journal
K Up-John Lennon and his son Sean spent time together drawing and creating captions for their works. The child's drawings have been transformed into a small picture book with a brief introduction by Yoko Ono. What may be a priceless treasure to a son or a cherished memento to an avid fan does not have a tidy spot in children's literature. These engaging, colorful drawings with pert to witty captions don't fill the bill as art, poetry, or biography. It is not revealed how Naclerio "adapted" the drawings; nor is the medium easily identified-pen, ink, felt tip, airbrush, watercolor, chalk, crayon-anything's possible, though it is hard to imagine father and son sharing an airbrush. Best suited to libraries with serious Beatles collections.
Jody McCoy, The Bush School, Seattle, WA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap
John Lennon was many things to many people: singer, songwriter, poet, political activist, and, not the least, the most outspoken member of what is, inarguably, the greatest rock-and-roll band of all time. But to Sean Lennon, he was Daddy, a role he took on with as much humor, intensity, and enthusiasm as any he had tackled.

John made the drawings in this book with and for Sean. Drawing pictures and making up funny captions was one of the ways they played together. It was how John taught Sean about the simple joys of creativity. It was one of the many ways John was able to express his real love for -- and great joy in -- his son.

Customer Reviews

a cool use for the book
I love this book and even though some may not agree with what I'm doing with it, it turned out to be a great idea. The drawings are perfect for a baby's room so what I've done is taken the drawings in the book and framed them to make a border for our baby's bedroom. The captions at the bottom of each page are perfect and simple and relay a wonderful message. I was never a fan of the Beatles or John Lennon for that matter, but this book really caught my eye and I couldn't resist it.

Simply Cute
I bought this book, while researching for a play "John Lennon and Me". This book is really cute, colorful, and VERY enjoyable. Not only did I enjoy it, but the cast of the play also enjoyed it as well, young and old, we all liked it. John Lennon's play on words is great. The captions are simple, but perfect. I would recomend this for any John Lennon fan, or just any one looking for a sweet/cute children's book.

Very colorful & friendly, you come away from it smiling.
The backgrounds are very pretty and colorful and John Lennon's drawings have a joyous and happy feel to them. The colorizations add a lot of happiness and fun and work well with his humorous linework. It's a very pleasing book to my 3 kids. Any kid would love it or any adult would appreciate it, for that matter. There's no story to the book but the titles are funny to repeat along to your kid.