I loved this book! I am a music lover nerd! I listen to all genres of music! I feel like music is so universal, it can make you feel all kinds of emotions, and it gives you a freedom to express yourself. ( )

Creative illustrations tell the story of Jimi as a young boy in a touching way that supports imagination in any circumstance. ( )

This books describes how Jimi Hendrix got his start and what inspired his passion. Golio uses vivid detail to show Jimi imitating the tones of the world around him: rain, laughter, truck engines--using his ukulele, drawings, stories, and finally a cheap guitar to express his art. He was unique in the way he used the sounds of the amplifier to compliment his music. The story contains a biographical note, telling the rest of Jimi's story, and history.

The story of Jimi Hendrix as he grew up with a love of art and music. He faced some hardships, but was supported and encouraged by his father. Although he passed away at a young age, he was still able to accomplish much.

Young Jimmy has a creative soul that loves to draw colorful scenes, make note of the beauty around him, and play air guitar as he listens to his father's blues music as well as the new rock music spreading the nation. When he has the opportunity to buy a used guitar off of a neighbor, Jimmy starts to wonder if he can't use music to paint pictures also and with some practice, luck, and ingenuity, the rock legend Jimi Hendrix is born.

I stumbled upon this book at the library quite haphazardly while looking for picture book biographies of famous persons active in the 1960s. I'll admit that I was a little dubious of a children's book about Jimi Hendrix, but I decided to check it out since it fit my theme. I was blown away with how amazing and beautiful this book is. The language of the text is lyrical and poetic; it walks that fine line of being comprehensible to young children without being mind-dullingly simplistic. The book focuses mainly on the creative side of Hendrix and less so on bogging children down with a boatload of details concerning dates and figures. In that respect, the book could almost be about anyone -- a child needn't have any exposure to Hendrix or his music to get the concept of observation and imagination coming together to make something artistic.

The illustrations in this book are a perfect match to the subject matter and language of the text. The pages come alive with the enthusiasm of the brightly colored mixed media pictures. At the risk of sounding too punny, the book's collages are electrifying. In a note, the illustrator explains, "I thought how Jimi saw the world and how that differed from other people's views, so I painted Jimi one way and his surroundings another way. I thought about the depth texture of his music so I layered and used bright colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple--rainbow colors."

Some notes at the end of the book provide more context about Hendrix and his place in history. The author - a social worker by trade (astoundingly, this is only his first book) - also gets on his soapbox a bit to talk about the dangers of drug use and provide resources on drug addiction treatment. The book concludes with suggestions on other books and media to check out more about Hendrix.

I would definitely recommend this book to share with young children in the context of talking about music and artistic expression. With older kids, you could also start to explore more about Hendrix himself, the times in which he lived, and his influence on music. ( )