Product Description

Since it first appeared on the 1974 album Planet Waves, "Forever Young" has been one of Bob Dylan's most beloved songs. Now award-winning artist Paul Rogers gives us a new interpretation of the lyrics. With images inspired by classic Dylan songs and pieces of his life, this is a bold and touching tribute to an anthem whose message will always stay forever young.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6451 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 40 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781416958086
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Dylan's 1974 anthem unfolds as a series of vignettes following the growth of a musician/activist (his clean-cut blondness is a far cry from the scruffiness of the real Dylan). May you grow up to be righteous,/ May you grow up to be true finds the hero fist-bumping an African-American school chum; May you have a strong foundation/ When the winds of changes shift captures him on the front lines of a peace demonstration. Rogers's line drawings may surprise admirers of his Jazz ABZ: the chilly rendering style and the flat, digitally manipulated compositions recall 1960s low-budget animation. The key to this book's likeliest audience, however, rests in the many visual shout-outs to Dylan's career (they're all explained in an endnote). DA Pennebaker can be seen filming the peace march, while Edie Sedgwick, Joan Baez and other hipster icons are among the marchers; another spread depicts the Greenwich Village clubs where Dylan played in the 1960s, and throws in references to both Lay, Lady, Lay (a big brass bed glimpsed through a window) and the cover of the 1963 album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. Baby boomers will have a blast decoding it all. All ages. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4—Rogers has fashioned Dylan's 1973 song into an homage to the musician and to coming of age in the 1960s. Adults familiar with the songwriter's life and albums will recognize images in the artwork that recall the period. For those who miss these references, a page-by-page explanation of the visual clues is appended. Most children will feel that the text reads like a blessing spoken by an adult to a growing boy. The illustrations show a street musician giving his guitar to a Caucasian child. He learns to play it and becomes friends with an African-American boy. The two eventually form their own street band, travel the country in a VW bug, and participate in rallies to save the planet and stop the war. The story comes full circle as the young man passes his guitar on to a girl at song's end. Some of the images will be confusing to those who don't read the back matter; e.g., the sticker on the guitar case that reads, "This machine kills Fascists" is a Woody Guthrie reference. A pleasant but additional purchase that will give baby boomers an opportunity to wax nostalgic about "the good old days" with their grandkids.—Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author
Bob Dylan is one of the most lauded and greatest loved songwriters and performers of all time. His particular brand of music first caught the public's attention in the 1960s, when he became something of a chronicler of the American conscience and cultural unrest. His remarkable career in music and literature continues to this day.

Paul Rogers is the illustrator of Wynton Marsalis's book Jazz ABZ. In addition to illustrating children's books, he has created images for the New York Times, Pixar Animation Studios, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and the NFL's Super Bowl. He lives with his wife, Jill, and his two children, Alex and Nate, in Pasadena, California.

Customer Reviews

A Sweet Book
This is a sweet little book that takes the lyrics from one of Dylan's gentler songs, and attaches them to a story of treating people with love and respect, and following your dream. The illustrations are filled with enough in- jokes from Dylan's life and lyrics to give adult fans something to look for, and straightforward enough for the little ones. The book is no big deal, but not everything has to be. It's probably great for the kids, and for the adult Dylan collector, it fits right next to "Man Gave Names to All the Animals."

Unbridled Excellence
As a rabid Bob Dylan fan, it was important to share my love of his work with my children. I feel so lucky to have found this book! The illustrations are brilliantly executed and richly textured, suiting the lyrical content of the book perfectly. My kids can't get enough of it, and love to look at the pictures while I play the song for them on vinyl. This book is a wonderful way to bridge generations and an easy, fun bedtime tuck-in book. I highly recommend it!

Surprising and endearing look at Bob Dylan
As pretty big Dylan fan, I admit I was not aware of this book, but then one day recently I saw this in my local library and of course picked it up immediately. The book was in the kids section of the library, I might add, and I only happen to see it by chance, walking by (my kids are grown and out of the house). I was quite intrigued.

"Forever Young" (40 pages) brings in essence 15 large illustrations (each spread over 2 pages) that illustrate certain aspects of Bob Dylan's life and songs, and it is a delight to look at. The book is obviously intended for young kids, to be read along with their parents, and to be introduced to the world (or at least certain aspects) that Dylan experienced in the early years. But for us adults, this book becomes a "Where's Walda" in a way, in that the illustrations contain a lot of "clues" as to Dylan songs and the sixties and seventies era. Illustrator Paul Rogers was kind enough to provide a summary guide of sorts at the end, explaining the illustrations, but emphasizing that he didn't explain all the clues, and to look for more in the illustrations. Nicely done.

In all, this is a welcome addition to the wealth of Bob Dylan books out there, in a very surprising and endearing kind of way. Highly recommended for adults and younger ones alike!