Wait! What? The Beatles Couldn’t Read Music? Dan Gutman. 2023. 144 pages. [Source: Library]
First sentence: Most teachers don’t really want you to know anything about the Beatles! They want you to know about Abraham Lincoln and educational stuff like that.
Premise/plot: This is a “nonfiction” book. The framework is fiction, a fictional brother and sister duo battle it out to see who knows more about the Beatles. The information they’re sharing is factual and nonfiction.
The book talks about the band, The Beatles. It talks about the four members of the band, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Each Beatle gets his own personal biographical chapter. Other chapters talk more about the band as a whole–chronicling the timeline of the band.
My thoughts: Did I learn anything new? No. Is that surprising? Not really if you KNOW me. I liked this one. I did. I was slightly annoyed by the fictional framework. However, I do appreciate that this one focused on the band AND the individuals within the band. I do think the Beatles are best introduced by their music. I know this is impossible to do in a book. Or perhaps not impossible, challenging enough, but the best way to get to know the Beatles is by….listening to the Beatles. Without that immediate connection to the music itself, I’m not sure how memorable or impactful or interesting or entertaining the book is.
© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky’s Book Reviews
