G. Neri is the author of Ghetto Cowboy, winner of a Horace
Mann Upstanders Book Award. He also wrote Yummy: The Last Days of a
Southside Shorty, which received a Coretta Scott King Author Honor,
and Chess Rumble, awarded a Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award. G.
Neri lives in Florida.
A. G. Ford has illustrated many picture books, including
Goal! by Mina Javaherbin and Desmond and the Very Mean Word by
Archbishop Desmond Tutu. A. G. Ford lives in Dallas, Texas.
Even those who aren’t fans of musician Johnny Cash will appreciate
the beauty of this biographical picture book. Written in free
verse, with colorful, realistic illustrations done in oil, this
title poignantly portrays the powerful influences of poverty,
religion, family, and music on Cash’s life. ... This is a real
tribute to the Man in Black, written in an easily accessible,
engaging manner that demonstrates the qualities he possessed that
make him a hero to so many.
—School Library Journal (starred review)
The narrative is well-researched, age-appropriate and beautifully
expressive. The exquisite oil illustrations capture the setting and
the emotion of each poem, allowing readers to feel as if they are
there with J.R. as he works the harsh Arkansas fields or in the
audience as Johnny whips the crowd into a frenzy plucking out his
tunes on the guitar. An exceptional portrait of one of the most
recognizable musicians of all time.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Neri and Ford do an impressive job of painting a portrait of the
Man in Black that emphasizes his hardscrabble beginnings and
lifelong love of music. ... On each oversize, two-page spread,
Neri’s straightforward free-verse lines describe a pivotal moment
in Cash’s life that contributed to his love of music. Working in
perfect concert with the words are Ford’s full-bleed, soulful oil
paintings, which lovingly capture emotion—serenity in Cash’s
beatific face when he sings along with the radio; rapture when he
hears June Carter sing for the first time. ... Parents eager to
share Cash’s signature boom-chicka-boom rhythms with their kiddos
will appreciate this eloquent introduction to the iconic
musician.
—Booklist (starred review)
Multiple columns of ragged-right-edge prose, rich in lyricism and
boasting a driving cadence, deftly develop an intricate and
detailed look at different moments and themes... Neri musters these
elements together to track Cash’s musical develop- ment and reveal
the encouragement, mentoring, and lucky breaks that bolstered his
own determination to make it in entertainment. ... Kids
unenthusiastically facing a biography report may find this to be a
perfect balance of engaging reading and teacher-satisfying
substance.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
The appealing biography succeeds in telling an information-packed
story of one of country music’s greats: readers will feel they know
the “Man in Black” well by book’s end.
—The Horn Book
In free-verse poetry and images that recall the emotional
directness of WPA murals and photography, Neri and Ford follow Cash
from the grinding poverty and tragedy of his early years to the
invention of his signature “boom-chicka-boom sound” and his
breakthrough hit, “I Walk the Line.” The images consistently strike
a haunting chord—especially a twilight scene on a country road in
which Johnny hears his first song on the car radio (“John couldn’t
believe/ that was his voice/ going out over/ the airwaves”).
Readers will best appreciate this biography after hearing some of
Cash’s music—and they won’t want to stop after hearing his
story.
—Publishers Weekly
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