Music Legends: 40 inspiring icons

by Hervé Guilleminot, Jérôme Masi (Illustrator)

Each Top 40 Famous title introduces readers to a fascinating non-fiction subject through its 40 most famous people or groups. An illustration, short biography and pull-out boxes with statistics brings each alive in a fun, accessible way. In this inspiring title, learn about Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Madonna, Beyoncé, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie and many other rock and pop legends. Key aspects are pulled out for young readers, such as genre, look and famous performances. 
 

Genres: Nonfiction, Music

88 pages, Hardcover

Published August 2, 2018

Reviews

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm back everyone. Did ya miss me?



So on that note, I thought I'd review something fun but easy to read to get back into this whole reading and review writing thing that I've been gone from for a few weeks now.



I love me some music - especially the old stuff. I'm talking here from the 40s to 90s - that really hits the sweet spot for me. So a book about music icons? Hell yes I was interested. Especially since my main man Bowie was on the cover.



This book is about all the artists that hit the scene and wowed the world with their new vocals, use of instruments and never-before gelled together genres.

The book begins by giving a timeline of important musicians. I think this is a fantastic book to get kids set on the road of real music.





For each important music, we get an awesome set of information - a small bio, some fun facts, date of birth and death and the reasons why these Rock n Roll hall of famers became so popular and well-loved in the first place.





Some fun facts:



Some of my favourite entries:



Some Pink Floyd





Led Zeppelin





My main man, Ziggy Stardust - the White Duke - the one and only David Bowie.





Queen, the best band out there





The Kings of Grunge





Kings of Creep






I really enjoyed the simplistic art style used to illustrate the most integral parts of the bands and their influence. I learnt so much from this book and I love just about every legend in it.



All in all, this is a pretty informative read although I think it focused more on the rock scene than any other genres - I would have liked to see some Nat King Cole, Gorillaz, Beethoven etc. for diversity of genre. I feel like these are massive music legends.



I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hervé Guilleminot has been passionate about music since the age when he tapped on the family piano. He grew up to become a musical journalist and author of books devoted to pop and rock music. He has written books on the Beatles, Bjork, AC / DC, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley and U2. Even though my music taste is very eclectic, I tend to listen to a great many artists that are fairly unknown to those that aren't hardcore lovers of certain obscure genres. That being said, I am intrigued by the icons we tend to worship unconditionally and so this book sounded intriguing to me.

"Music Legends" is an informative compilation of 40 different people or groups targeted towards the childrens non-fiction market. For each particular icon there are illustrations, a short biography and other information such as statistics, all produced in an accessible and fun format for both adults and children. The book imparts information on a wide variety of musicians from Elvis to The Beatles to Madonna and The Rolling Stones. There is lots of trivia throughout the whole book but it never feels as though the amount is overwhelming - it's a fine balance but one that the author has done correctly. The graphics are incredibly eye=catching and really complment the information we are given.

I love this series and will be looking out for more of them in the future! Brilliant - recommended for adults who are interested in the music industry and the absolute greats and for young children who will find it an engaging experience.

Many thanks to Quarto Publishing Group/Wide Eyed Editions for an ARC. I was not required to post a review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

[Literary Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

My ex worked in the music industry, and we got to meet a lot of stars, but not the very top musical cats featured in MUSIC LEGENDS. This cool book gives the 411 on 40 pop and rock stars through bios, sweet illustrations, and pull-out boxes with statistics. Now, I feel I’ve gone backstage and met Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Madonna, Beyoncé, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie and so many more. Highly recommended!

Grateful to the Quarto Publishing Group - Wide Eyed Editions and NetGalley for the early copy, in exchange for my true review.

#MusicLegends #NetGalley

[George1st · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really enjoyable hour or so was taken up reliving the past and indeed learning new things about 40 music legends starting with Elvis Presley and then covering 39 other well known and for me anyway some so not so well known artists. Most of the big names are covered from the last 60 years or so including Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Who, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Jim Hendrix, Queen, David Bowie, Abba, Madonna, Beyonce, Michael Jackson, U2 and many more.

With interesting facts, trivia, statistics and a categorisation of their musical styles this will enable children to gain a basic understanding and be an introduction to the world of the different popular music genres and its artists leading them to perhaps further reading.

The graphics are very good and the way the pages are set out makes it easy to take in the available information. This is certainly an eclectic selection and we have representatives from everything from pop to hard rock from new wave to punk. Even if you are not the targeted children audience I think that you may well find this a rather fun read.

[Etienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book that present 40 legends of music, mostly from rock, pop, hip hop, on a vast time period. Beautiful, easy to goes through, well organized, it may be an interesting book for the young ones who are interest in music and want to discover old/classic bands. Not very fit for adult, unless you have no musical references at all, because everybody knows those artist and the fact about them are too basic for adult liking. But like I said good introduction book for kids!

[Kyra Leseberg (Roots & Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Music Legends is an excellent compilation of musicians who have left their mark on pop/rock history, from The Beatles to Wu-Tang Clan! The graphic design has a clean and modern layout with a brief artist history, music genre, and selected discography or important dates.
This is a perfect introduction for young readers interested in pop/rock music and its history!
Thanks to Quarto Publishing Group/Wide Eyed Editions and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[joyce w. laudon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an appealing and informative resource for kids who would like to know more about popular and significant musicians and/or groups. The book begins with Elvis and goes on to the Beatles, the Who, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, U2, Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan and many others; there are 40 stories in all. The book is beautifully laid out with two pages per music legend. Illustrations are lively and really catch the look and flavor of each musician's personality. There are some dates, important facts and interesting trivia. Adults can also enjoy this look at the music that shaped the world when they were growing up. Highly recommended for popular music aficionados!

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one is my least favorite so far and not because of the presentation style which is what I love about it but that the caricatures didn't ring true and/or were overexaggerated or underexaggerated and that the choices were definitely not solid by the second half of the book. I needed a bit more convincing of some of the groups and individual singers that were in there and definitely noticed a lack of others that should have been in there.

[Donna Maguire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to follow!

[KayKay · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Music Legends," the title is misleading for I was expecting to read music legends across different genres and throughout time periods. On the actual book cover, it does not mention anything about "meet 40 pop and rock stars" but websites across different platforms do have the proper reference. As mentioned, the book is dedicated to some of the famous rock/pop icons emerged from the 60s to the present time.

It's a great book to introduce children to rock and roll music and its influences to the subsequent development of pop/soul/R&B. It is a particular useful reference to illustrate the development of music history in the recent decades if accompany it by using any visual/audio materials (i.e. music clips, music videos and etc.) It's a fun book to read but not necessary a must-have. To me, this is not the strongest title among other books from the same series but certainly a better one for enjoyment. Overall, "Music Legends" does not disappoint- loaded with great concepts, illustrations and information.

[Justin Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned some stuff.

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Music Legends: Meet 40 pop and rock stars' by Herve Guilleminot with illustrations by Jerome Masi is a collection of 40 different pop and rock stars in an iconography form.

Starting with Elvis, then quickly jumping in the mid-1960s, the book features forty stars or bands up to the band Arcade Fire. There is a pretty good representation of the 70s and 80s, then it falls off in later years. Bands like The Doors, The Velvet Underground and U2 are here as well as Madonna and Beyonce.
I was puzzled by the addition of Blur, Arcade Fire and Daft Punk, but to each their own, I suppose. Each act gets a two page treatment with an icon version of the band featuring iconic styles. There is a list of important dates or albums, and a brief bio of the band.

It's a pretty brief overview of 50+ years of music, but perhaps it works to introduce readers to new bands they may be less familiar with.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Quarto Publishing Group - Wide Eyed Editions, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

This guide to modern music isn't great enough to deserve a place in every school library, but it's not dreadful. 40 acts, from Elvis to Arcade Fire, all get a double-page spread, a main paragraph about them, and an abundance of factoids, many of which adorn a cartoonish illustration of them. (Many a time the pictures are hopeless – New Order were unrecognisable.) I guess the selections are clear and understandable, although surely Arcade Fire and Red Hot Chili Peppers should be swapped out for Prince and Fleetwood Mac, if you want to demarcate pop in the ways of influence and success respectively. Still, while a couple of things will remain unclear to the young reader (Phil Collins' "reverb drums" – you what now?), it should create a fair few online searches and questions for parents and teachers to answer. And as long as those aren't about what NWA stood for, we'll all be OK.

[Paul Franco · Rating 3 out of 5]

A purported children’s book about the greatest stars in rock and roll history. . . supposedly. More on that coming up.
Right away there’s Elvis, who’s described as having “devilish swiveling hips.” Can’t wait for a kid to ask Mom what that means.
More than anything, I have to question the inclusion of some of these, especially with Rush not chosen. At least I’ve heard of most of them, but Blur? This book definitely skews British and Euro. Daft Punk? Well, the author is French. . . I think that after he ran out of icons, he chose his favorites. It’s just that some of these are so ridiculous it brings the whole book down.
Like the similar entry on Greek gods, this one just doesn’t feel like the children’s book it claims to be.
2.5 pushed up to 3/5

[Ilana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The history of music in 40 inspiring portraits, including Elvis, The Beatles, Madonna, David Bowie and the Rolling Stones. The focus is too much on the 1960s - do any member of the young audience have any interest in The Who? - until the 1990s and does not appeal too much to the contemporary readers. And probably those interested in such bands will not be too much into such children books. But we are talking about 'legends' anyway so the choice of the topic is in itself restrictive.
The information is well presented and in an informative way, with relevant career benchmarks at the end of each short chapter. Recommended to little music lovers interested to dive more into the recent musical past.

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice intros to our favorite icons on music! I think it will be of interest to kids 4th grade to 8th grade who are interested in who there grandparents listened to way back in the day! Chapters are short and easy to read. Lots of info, but not enough to overwhelm. it was a fun read for me too as an adult! I grew up listening to these bands; they played the music that highlighted my life! Nothing like good old rock music! Kudos to the author of bringing it to the kids!

[Jami M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this fun little encyclopedia of music. That said, I do realize it is very limited in scope. This is definitely not an all inclusive survey of music legends. Without getting into the problems of the exclusion/inclusion, I’ll say it is a good book for teens who might want to listen to some really cool music. The illustrations are fun and it has just enough information to hold your attention.

[Tompkins County Public Library Youth Services]

A person would be hard pressed to find a significant musician or musical group that played a large role in the history of popular music that isn’t included in this stylish book. The minimalist digitally created illustrations really catch your eye and the fun facts, although they couldn’t really supply a report, are interesting and varying. And really…who isn’t already “Crazy in Love” for Beyonce!

[Randy Sangha · Rating 3 out of 5]

a very fast read - less than an hour. a list of artists starting from Elvis and ending with Arcade Fire. with any list of "legends", there will be many arguments and I thought Prince should have been in here (and well, of course, so should Mariah). fun facts and tidbits and also got me to realize that I grew up in a great era of music in the 70s and 80s but didn't listen to most of these legends and i wished i had.

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great little overview of the most influential musical acts and the evolution of music from Elvis to Arcade Fire. A few fun facts I didn't know.

[Ron Badgerow III · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice snapshots into some of music's greatest artists and acts over the past 70 years.
Could have had a handful of more influential artists, but they may be covered in the Black Music Greats book.

[James Traxler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick-ish little book, at a level for around 8 or 9-year-olds I reckon.
Graphics/artwork are nicely done.
But still, my son was only marginally interested :).
I read it myself then. There are a few artists in here that I should look up.
And a few I won't bother to...
Bit of a random selection here and there, but I guess the majority of selections are justified.

[Jesica DeHart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Visual and factual masterpiece! I am compelled to read every book in this new series! Wide Eyed Editions is one of best imprints for kids nonfiction.

[Andréa]

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.