Richie's Picks: I AND I: BOB MARLEY by Tony Medina and Jesse Joshua
Watson, Lee & Low, April 2009, 48p., ISBN: 978-1-60060-257-3
"Good friends we have had,
Oh, good friends we've lost along the way
In this great future you can't forget your past
So dry your tears I say.
No woman, no cry
No woman, no cry
Ee little darling, don't shed no tears
No, woman, no cry"
-- written by Vincent Ford, Bob Marley's friend who used his royalties to
run a soup kitchen in Trenchtown.
When one first looks through I AND I, what hits you is an overwhelming
sense of joy amidst the signs of struggle. Throughout the story, Jesse Joshua
Watson's bold acrylics bring life and heart to Jamaican landscapes,
markets, and music.
"In this day and age
The only way out of the
Hardship of the hood
"And its never-ending rage
Is to play soccer
Which we love
"Or to do something against
The law and risk a police baton
Whack across the jaw
"We don't want to
Land in jail
All we want to do is wail
"Be the voice of the voiceless
Bring some happiness and
Consciousness to the down-pressed
"Through our redemption songs."
I AND I is a picture book biography in verse about Bob Marley, the young
man who brought reggae to the world and continues -- twenty-eight years
after his young death in 1981 -- to inspire new generations through his music
and his peaceful fight for social and economic justice.
Born to a teenage country girl of color and an elderly white military man,
Bob Marley grew up rarely seeing his father. Growing up with prejudice
and amidst poverty, music became a positive part of Bob's life from when he
was a little boy, and by fourteen he was getting together with older
musicians and stepbrother Bunny, and perfecting his craft.
"And music becomes my way of life
My business and my main source of knowledge"
There are great pieces about Bob's inspiration; about his sweetie, Rita;
and about traveling the world spreading his music and his Rasta words.
I AND I concludes with a four-page, 3,000-word Author's Notes which is
divided into segments that each coincide with one of the book's two-page
spreads. The author's notes provide a tremendous amount of straightforward
information about the life and beliefs of Bob Marley and the background of
Jamaica.
"Stir it up, little darlin'; stir it up, come on baby..."
A joy to read and an inspiring introduction to an immortal figure of my
lifetime, I AND I was wowing my grad students this summer and will surely
leave quite an impression on today's adolescents.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks _http://richiespicks.com_ (http://richiespicks.com/)
_http://www.librarything.com/profile/richiespicks_
(http://www.librarything.com/profile/richiespicks)
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
Moderator, _http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_school_lit/_
(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_school_lit/)
_http://www.myspace.com/richiespicks_ (http://www.myspace.com/richiespicks)
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