Rock Chronicles: Every Legend, Every Line-up, Every Look

Gr 5 Up—Profiling about 250 rock bands or performers from AC/DC to ZZ Top-and including Chuck Berry and Arcade Fire-this alphabetically arranged encyclopedia offers opportunities for quick reference and casual browsing, if not systematic study. Each high-density spread sandwiches a narrative history in tiny type between thumbnail photos of a band's complete lineup and a color-coded time line that simultaneously identifies chief instrument and years of service for each major member, along with significant recordings. Selected bands get a second spread of small performance and album cover photos. Along with an index of names, the back matter includes selective lists of websites, Grammy winners, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees. Aside from occasional nods to such groups as A-Ha or Mano Negra/Manu Chao, the editor largely sticks to the British/North American scene, and his definition of "Rock" is loose enough to include Elvis Presley and the New York Dolls but (typically) not female performers such as Joan Jett or Heart's Wilson sisters. Furthermore, though Paul McCartney and John Lennon earn individual entries as well as collective ones, other influential solo musicians such as Sting, Peter Gabriel, and even Eric Clapton do not. Still, as a source of quick historical background (and where online resources are not available) this might be considered as an alternative or update for the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll (Fireside, 2001) or other older surveys.—John Peters, Children's Literature Consultant, New York City