Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix

Young Jimmy has a creative soul that loves to draw colorful scenes, make note of the beauty around him, and play air guitar as he listens to his father's blues music as well as the new rock music spreading the nation. When he has the opportunity to buy a used guitar off of a neighbor, Jimmy starts to wonder if he can't use music to paint pictures also and with some practice, luck, and ingenuity, the rock legend Jimi Hendrix is born.

I stumbled upon this book at the library quite haphazardly while looking for picture book biographies of famous persons active in the 1960s. I'll admit that I was a little dubious of a children's book about Jimi Hendrix, but I decided to check it out since it fit my theme. I was blown away with how amazing show more and beautiful this book is. The language of the text is lyrical and poetic; it walks that fine line of being comprehensible to young children without being mind-dullingly simplistic. The book focuses mainly on the creative side of Hendrix and less so on bogging children down with a boatload of details concerning dates and figures. In that respect, the book could almost be about anyone -- a child needn't have any exposure to Hendrix or his music to get the concept of observation and imagination coming together to make something artistic.

The illustrations in this book are a perfect match to the subject matter and language of the text. The pages come alive with the enthusiasm of the brightly colored mixed media pictures. At the risk of sounding too punny, the book's collages are electrifying. In a note, the illustrator explains, "I thought how Jimi saw the world and how that differed from other people's views, so I painted Jimi one way and his surroundings another way. I thought about the depth texture of his music so I layered and used bright colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple--rainbow colors."

Some notes at the end of the book provide more context about Hendrix and his place in history. The author - a social worker by trade (astoundingly, this is only his first book) - also gets on his soapbox a bit to talk about the dangers of drug use and provide resources on drug addiction treatment. The book concludes with suggestions on other books and media to check out more about Hendrix.

I would definitely recommend this book to share with young children in the context of talking about music and artistic expression. With older kids, you could also start to explore more about Hendrix himself, the times in which he lived, and his influence on music. show less

I know, I know. I said I wouldn't...but here I am again, reviewing a picturebook biography. These things are so addictive! So many of them have amazing writing, gorgeous art...and absolutely no use in my library.

This one is, of course, about Jimi Hendrix. In rich, varied language, Golio tells the story of young Jimi's obsession with sounds and his interest in a wide variety of music - all of which he later incorporated into his own musical style. Golio talks about Jimi's imagination and how he tried to express himself through art and music. We see Jimi's first band, his first encounter with an electric guitar, and finally how he fulfilled his dream of playing the sounds and sights he saw and heard around him and in his show more imagination.

Javaka Steptoe's illustrations are painted in layers on plywood, giving a unique texture and feel to the backgrounds and characters she painted to accompany the story. The book finishes with two pages of detailed biography of Jimi Hendrix's adult life, an author's note addressing Hendrix's drug addictions, websites and books on dealing with alcohol and drug addictions, and an illustrator's note describing her techniques and inspiration. There's an additional page of resources about Jimi Hendrix's life; books, discography, and websites.

This is a lovely, detailed, beautifully written and illustrated book. And nobody is going to read it at my library. There's not much interest in older music here among teens; certainly none of our teens will pick up a book that looks like a picturebook. Elementary students only want biographies that are 100 pages - the length required for school projects. I don't see any parents reading this aloud to their children, because of the lengthy text and the author's note and discussions about drug and alcohol addiction at the end of the story seem aimed at an older audience anyways.

Source: Review copy provided by Clarion books, through Raab Associates. Release date: October 4th.

Verdict: I'm still not adding picturebook biographies, especially of musicians, to my library. There's just no audience. I do think this book might find an audience in a larger, more urban library. It might also be a good resource in a school library perhaps. I'd hate to not see it loved somewhere, because it's a great book - just not right for our library. I feel like that about a lot of picturebook biographies. What on earth is one supposed to do with this troublesome genre? show less

I wondered about the age range for this book, but once I read it, I decided that Hendrix's death from drugs has nothing to do with the story here. It is about his childhood and his growth as an artist and is an amazing story for kids.
I love how his early interest in art developed into his music and then cycles back again in the art in the book. I saw this quote on Steptoe's website "collage is a means of survival. It is how Black folks survived four hundred years of oppression, taking the scraps of life and transforming them into art forms" Perfect to describe the art in this book.
I only wish we had gotten a copy of this before we did all our Caldecott Hopeful programs for staff!

JIMI,SOUNDS LIKE A RAINBOW is a creatively told story of Jimi Hendrix growing up. It tells of his love of music from a young age and his determination to play music. The reader gets a glimpse into his childhood.The author, Gary Golio, artistically describes, in a poetic way, Jimi and his creativity. The illustrator, Javaka Steptoe, illustrations make the story come alive. The illustrations could be used in an art class to show how art enhances a story. It is important to read "More About Jimi", "Author's Note", and "Illustrator's Note" to completely understand the complexity and beauty of Jimi Hendrix and the tragedy.

I LOVED the art and design elements in the book, they really bring out the energy of Jimi hendrix and music in general.A MUST read. Great for children interested in art and music.

The amazing illustrations in this biography of a young Jimi Hendrix completely overwhelm the text. Steptoe has an uncanny ability to bring Hendrix's sound alive through color.

This books describes how Jimi Hendrix got his start and what inspired his passion. Golio uses vivid detail to show Jimi imitating the tones of the world around him: rain, laughter, truck engines--using his ukulele, drawings, stories, and finally a cheap guitar to express his art. He was unique in the way he used the sounds of the amplifier to compliment his music. The story contains a biographical note, telling the rest of Jimi's story, and history.