All You Need Is Love

October 1, 2018
Yet another famous song gets the picture-book treatment, and yet another song's lyrics are revealed to be less than the sum of the tune's parts.The Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" was born in the Summer of Love, and its chorus reflects that. The verses, though....As Barry Miles quotes Paul McCartney in his book Many Years from Now, "The chorus...is simple, but the verse is quite complex; in fact, I never understood it...." Young readers are no more likely to get it than McCartney, and even adults reading, "There's nothing you can do that can't be done," are likely to say, "Duh." It's best just to go with it and stick around for the chorus. Rosenthal's artwork begins with a bear in a den made of rocks listening to some birds in a nest: "Love, love, love." Two more successive spreads show the bear inspecting the birds' nest up close and then, walking on two hind legs, starting a parade through the forest to the outskirts of a town and then right through it, forest animals and a pair of children, one brown-skinned with short black hair and the other a pale-skinned blonde, joining behind, with the whole parade leaving blooming flowers in its wake. Along the way, diverse people stop and watch. While bright and colorful, the pictures don't elucidate the verses' meaning any better than the text, though love comes through loud and clear. Final art not seen.Beatles lovers should stick to sharing just the tune and skip this. (Picture book. 3-8)

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October 29, 2018
Rosenthal (Small Walt) turns Lennon and McCartney’s Summer of Love anthem into a tribute to friendship and community. At the end of winter, when the trees are still bare and melted snow puddles dot the ground, a bear in its den hears the happy song of a bluebird family (“Love, love, love”) and is inspired to take the message to the forest, and then to the streets. Accompanied by the birds and other woodland friends, the bear enlists a lonely-looking boy to join; the boy in turn urges a brooding girl to shake off her mood and march beside him. Flowers spring up in their path, the landscape turns lush, and people of all ages celebrate their connections to one another. The circular, allusive lyrics may be hard for young listeners to track when read aloud (“There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done/.... Nothing you can say, but you can learn how to play the game”). But singing the text—and giving in to the impulse to sway along—imbues it with fun and meaning, and Rosenthal’s joyful cartooning underscores the exhortation that “it’s easy” to share good vibes. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 4–8.

December 1, 2018

PreS-Gr 1-The iconic Lennon and McCartney lyrics are brought to life in full-color art for a new generation. A bear is awakened by the sweet sound of a mother bluebird singing with her baby. The bear is so enchanted that he follows them as they fly through the countryside and into the town. As they go, more animals and even people join in the melodic and merry parade, spreading love and joy as they pass houses and cross bridges full of people that could use a little cheer. The parade ends in an explosion of color and camaraderie in a neighborhood park. A picture book for all ages, this is sure to bring a sense of happiness and well-being to all who read it. The illustrations are as inspiring as the lyrics, with bright rainbow colors, and lighthearted, animated characters. The diversity of human characters is to be appreciated, and the change of setting as the parade marches on adds interest and intrigue. VERDICT A cultural must-have for all well-rounded library collections.-Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE

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