"Who Were the Beatles" by Geoff Edgers

I chose to review this book because it is included on the 3rd-5th grade list for the 2011-12 Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB).

Who Were the Beatles?
Author: Geoff Edgers
Genre: Biography
Age Level: 8+ years

SUMMARY
This easy-to-read, illustrated narrative covers the lives of each of the four Beatles. It begins with a description of their childhoods in Liverpool, England. It talks about how they were introduced to Rock 'n' Roll music. It describes Beatlemania and illustrates what it was like to be a rock star. It also explains why they broke up. Scattered throughout the book are brief informational summaries covering many topics including Rhythm and Blues, the Vietnam War, and The Sixties.

CRITIQUE
Parents should be aware that due to the lives of these individuals and the times in which they lived, this book touches on many mature themes. It doesn't go in to a lot of detail, and is dealt with in a very straightforward manner, but be aware that there is content that may be inappropriate for the targeted audience.

RATINGS
Disrespectful/Bad Attitude: Mild
Frightening/Suspenseful: None
Profanity: None
Sex: Mild
Substance Use: Mild
Mature Themes: Heavy
Violence: Mild

SPECIFIC CONTENT
Disrespectful/Bad Attitude:
-John Lennon made fun of his teachers, sometimes to their face.
-Paul McCartney's brother called him "fatty" when he was a young boy.

Sex: -Talks about how Elvis wore his shirt unbuttoned, and his jean tight, and swiveled his hips when he sang and the "girls went crazy."
-Mentions that Paul liked girls and bragged to all his friends when he had his first kiss.
-Explains Yoko Ono's experimental style as an artist by giving the example of how she "made a film of a fly walking up and down a naked person's body."
-Drawing of John Lennon and Yoko Ono kissing.

Substance Use:
-Mention of fans who had "too much beer and got into fights." (accompanied by drawing)
-Mentions LSD as being a drug that some people were using at the time.
-John Lennon "began to drink too much. He also took drugs."

Mature Themes:
-Custody battle.
-Death of parent: John and Paul both had a mother who died when they were teenagers.
-Abandoned by father.
-Extended illness.
-Racism.
-Discussion of how the sixties was a generation filled with anger.
-Vietnam War.
-Political assassinations.

Violence:
-John Lennon got into fights, as a child and as an adult.
-John's mother dies after being hit by a car.
-States that John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr. were all shot and killed.
-George Harrison is stabbed.
-Mentally ill man shoots John Lennon with a gun and kills him.