Jimi Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix Book

"Music is Magic"- Jimi Hendrix.
Gary Golio prefaces his story, Jimi sounds like a rainbow, with this quote. The book itself, with its rhythmic, flowing language and illustrations that explode with colors makes this book nothing less than magical. In Jimi sounds like a rainbow, Golio presents the story of a young Jimi Hendrix and his discovery of art, music, and the world around him. As a child, Jimi would often draw and paint the images and sounds that flowed through his mind. For every sound that Jimi heard, he imagined a color as well: "Blue was the whoosh of cool water, splashing over rocks. Orange and red, the crackling of a campfire." Soon Jimi would hear the sounds of his father's blues records on the phonograph and wonder: "Could someone paint pictures with sound?" Beginning with strumming the bristles on his kitchen broom to eventually strumming an electric guitar, Jimi's "playing became bold as lightning" and reached millions of people around the world.

This book can be enjoyed by audience members of all ages. For classroom use, the book itself can cross curricular boundaries, as I can imagine it being used in an art classroom (award-winning illustrations), a music classroom, and an English classroom. The text is so rich with figurative language and sensory details: "the man's voice was dark and smooth, like velvet," "a siren wailed in the distance." Teachers can have a lot of fun teaching poetic devices and writing concepts with this text. The themes in this text are universal as well. As children read about Jimi's dream, they may realize the value in having and pursuing their own dreams.

In the very back of the book, the author includes more information that can be helpful for educators. He includes an author's note where he talks about Jimi's untimely death due to alcohol and drug abuse. The author includes a number of websites and books that may allow for deeper analysis and discussion of substance abuse and mental health. Finally, the illustrator includes a section where he found his inspiration for his artwork, from fingering an electric guitar to going to Seattle and walking the streets of Jimi's hometown.