The History of Rock: For Big Fans and Little Punks

Gr 3-7–For those middle-grade readers that are ready to rock, this slim introduction to some of the greatest artists in rock and roll history might be the resource to get them going. The short chapters follow a mostly chronological order. Each paragraph within the chapters explains the musician’s origin story, their music, and the importance of their contribution. A table provides pertinent biographical information, a suggested song list, and a fun fact. The shining stars of this volume are the colorful, caricature-style illustrations that accompany each biography. More so than the text itself, the illustrations offer a window into the personality and style of each performer and will undoubtedly draw readers in. As an introduction, this volume is highly browsable and will provide a foundation to encourage further exploration. At times, the biographies suffer a bit from overgeneralized platitudes such as “of all time” and “to this day.”