Description
Temporarily out of stock
Title: Guitar Genius: How Les Paul Engineered the Solid-Body Electric Guitar & Rocked the World
Author: TOMSIC KIM
Illustrator: HELQUIST BRETT
Format: HARDCOVER
Publication date: 01/05/2019
Imprint: CHRONICLE (CHILDREN’S)
Price: $40.00
Publishing status: Active
This is the story of how Les Paul created the world’s first solid- body electric guitar, countless other inventions that changed modern music, and one truly epic career in rock and roll. How to make a microphone? A broomstick, a cinderblock, a telephone, a radio. How to make an electric guitar? A record player’s arm, a speaker, some tape. How to make a legendary inventor? A few tools, a lot of curiosity, and an endless faith in what is possible. Featuring richly detailed, dynamic illustrations by Brett Helquist, this unforgettable biography will resonate with inventive readers young and old.
Kirkus Reviews (02/01/2019):
Young Lester Polsfuss’ piano teacher sent a note home to Lester’s mother saying, \”Your boy, Lester, will never learn music, so save your money. Please don’t send him for any more lessons.\” Lester proved her wrong and grew up to become Les Paul, \”guitar genius.\”\”You can do anything you put your mind to,\” Lester’s mother told him. So Lester put his mind to creating things: a radio, a recording device, a mic and a speaker, and a solid-body electric guitar that forever changed popular music. Along the way, Lester also created personae–Red Hot Red, Rhubarb Red, the Wizard of Waukesha. As Les Paul, the white man played to diverse crowds with some of the greatest musicians of the era: Louis Armstrong, Art Tatum, Nat King Cole, Coleman Hawkins, and Charlie Christian–all sharing a page in Helquist’s illustration as they sometimes shared a stage. The illustrations evoke the musicians’ energy with wild flames of sound erupting from speakers and a frequently repeated, sometimes-overdone multicolored circle motif reminiscent of Bryan Collier’s circles in John’s Secret Dreams (2004). Tomsic effectively explains Les Paul’s complex technical achievements, focusing on just a few that make sense for her audience. Her author’s note goes into more depth.An exuberant introduction to a musician and creative genius that young readers probably have not heard of before. (Picture book/biography. 6-10) COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ISBN: 9781452159195
Dimension: 241mm X 279mm
Pages: 56