Blowin' in the Wind

by Bob Dylan, Jon J Muth (Illustrator)

Overview

The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind.
 
With words by one of the most admired songwriters of all time and illustrations by a Caldecott Honor medalist, this powerful and timely picture book will be treasured by adults and children alike.

Following the success of Man Gave Names to All the Animals comes a stunning version of Bob Dylans beloved song: the anthemic “Blowin in the Wind.” Jon J Muth is the perfect artist to interpret Dylans poetic lyrics for a new generation of readers.
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This beautiful edition includes a CD of Dylans original 1963 recording, plus a special note by renowned music columnist Greil Marcus, putting the song in historical context.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402780028
Publisher:	Sterling Children's Books
Publication date:	11/01/2011
Pages:	28
Product dimensions:	11.80(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Bob Dylan has written more than 600 songs. His 46 albums have sold more than 110 million copies around the world. He has won numerous awards, including the Kennedy Center Honor, the French Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, Swedens Polar Music Prize, an Academy Award®, a Golden Globe®, and Grammys® too numerous to mention. In 2008, Bob Dylan was awarded a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation for his “profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power.” His most recent album of original material, Together Through Life, was released in 2009 and entered the number one slot in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
 
Jon J Muth is a best-selling writer and illustrator. For over twenty years he created comics and graphic novels, culminating in the industrys highest honor, an Eisner Award for The Mystery Play.
 
In 1999 Mr. Muth started what has been more than a decade in childrens books. He is the author and illustrator of Zen Shorts, a Caldecott Honor book, which Kirkus Reviews called “as perfect a picture book as can be.” He illustrated the anthology A Family of Poems, by Caroline Kennedy. His book The Three Questions has been described as “quietly life-changing” by the New York Times. Mr. Muths work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. He lives in New York.

Date of Birth:

May 24, 1941

Place of Birth:

Duluth, MN

Website:

http://www.bobdylan.com/

Editorial Reviews

The young children enjoying this picture book and its matching CD probably won't be aware of how Bob Dylan's 1963 "Blowin' in The Wind" enchanted grandma and granddad when it first came out. In addition to the CD of Dylan's original recording, this edition is graced by illustrations from Caldecott Honor medalist Jon Muth and a special note by Dylan specialist author Greil Marcus on the song's historical context.

Dylan’s most famous song (the original 1963 recording is included on a CD) gets a lavish but conceptually muddled treatment from Muth (Zen Shorts). In a series of full-bleed watercolor landscapes that accompany Dylan’s lyrics, Muth imagines a group of children embarking on a journey, with a mysterious paper airplane acting as their lodestar. Arriving by boat at the wall of a city, dark-skinned figures dressed in white drop a guitar down to them. Although the guitar later breaks, the children reach a happy conclusion; they’re last seen frolicking on a hilltop overlooking the ocean, where an abandoned cannon, covered with the flags of several nations, sits as a reminder of the folly of conflict. The target audience can handle ambiguity and multiple levels of meaning, but Muth’s gorgeous washes of colors, solemn figures, and enigmatic symbols probably won’t help children think more deeply about the song and its meaning. Moreover, the pictures lack the tension of Dylan’s lyrics—how the need for transformation and justice must continually struggle against individual inertia and the pull of the status quo. Ages 5–8. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

… Jon J Muth (“Zen Shorts”), whose dreamy, delicate watercolors seem particularly well suited to Bob Dylan's call for peace, freedom and understanding.” ---New York Times.com

“Muth's watercolor paintings are delicate and beautiful…Teachers of music and/or history, and fans of folk music will be pleased with the book.” --School Library Journal

From the Publisher

K-Gr 4—The lyrics of Dylan's classic song do not stand alone, so the inclusion of the original recording is critical. An artist's note explains Muth's relationship with the song and the reason for the paper airplanes in each illustration (the "answers" might be on the sheets of paper blowing in the wind). A note from a music historian provides context for the song's genesis and explains its timelessness. Both notes are interesting and enriching, but geared toward older readers. Muth's watercolor paintings are delicate and beautiful; however, they are somewhat abstract and do not always work with the words. The combination of adult lyrics mentioning injustice and death with illustrations of youngsters carrying balls and balloons is somewhat jarring. Older children and teens would get the most out of the lyrics and history, but may be turned off by the art. Children who would relate to the illustrations may find the song too solemn and difficult to comprehend. Teachers of music and/or history, and fans of folk music will be pleased with the book, but its oddness may narrow its general appeal.—Heidi Estrin, Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton, FL

School Library Journal

Dylan's lyrics succeed here better than many other songs that find their way to picture books. Bucking the usual dismal results when popular songs are forced into an illustrated format, this one makes a brave go--though children will likely be less drawn to it than their parents and grandparents. Paired to Dylan's often-abstract 1963 lyrics--which, as music scholar Greil Marcus notes in a perceptive tribute as an afterword, can be either "hopeful" or "full of doubt," depending on how they are sung--Muth's (Zen Shorts, 2005; City Dog, Country Frog, 2010) full-spread, Impressionistic watercolors are equally open to interpretation. They place a cast of introspective young children with eyes cast down or to the side near roads and on rolling grassy hills, in a misty wood or floating in a small boat past a prison wall and a mountain of ice. Adding paper airplanes, a bright red balloon, a guitar, a cannon shrouded in national flags (topped by those of the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China) and other openly metaphorical details, the artist creates an airy, expansive setting for the spare words that positively compels pensive contemplation. Big questions, posed with majestic simplicity--and packaged with a CD of the original track. (artist's afterword). (Picture book. 8-10, adult)

Kirkus Reviews

…Jon J Muth['s] dreamy, delicate watercolors seem particularly well suited to Bob Dylan's call for peace, freedom and understanding.
—The New York Times

Pamela Paul