John's Secret Dreams: The Life of John Lennon

by Doreen Rappaport
Illustrated by Bryan Collier

John Lennon was a teenager when his aunt told him he could "never make a living" as a guitarist. Luckily, John did not take no for an answer. Although he often had to hide his dreams from family and friends, John Lennon accomplished what most consider to be come of the greatest triumphs in popular music.

Doreen Rappaport's elegant prose and Bryan Collier's breathtaking art together depict the complex life of John Lennon and make it accessible to young readers. In addition, through the selected lyrics quoted inside, Lennon speaks for himself to new generations, and is bound to win over a legion of new die-hard fans.

John's Secret Dreams is an extraordinary experience of the senses, told by Doreen in prose, Bryan in pictures, and John in song. Filled with factual details, including a bibliography and a chronological account of important moments in John's life, this book allows readers to come to know the rebel, the activist, the genius, the musician who helped change our world.

Doreen Rappaport wrote the critically acclaimed Martin's Big Words, which received a Caldecott Honor, a Coretta Scott King Honor, an NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor, a New York Times Best Illustrated citation, a Jane Addams Children's Book Award, and was a Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book. She is also the author of Freedom River, an ALA Notable Book and winner of the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration. She lives and writes in upstate New York.

Bryan Collier received a Caldecott Honor for Martin's Big Words, and a Coretta Scott King Honor for Freedom River. He won the Coretta Scott King Award for Uptown, which he wrote himself. Mr. Collier is a graduate of Pratt Institute and volunteers in Harlem in a program that offers work space and materials to self-taught artists. In his travels he aims to inspire children to explore their artistic side. He divides his time between New York and Pennsylvania.