The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin Groovy)
By: Paul Simon - Lyric Pop/Akashic Books, $16.55
Description: Paul Simons groovy anthem to New York City provides a joyful basis for this live-for-the-day picture book.
Verdict: The 59th Street Bridge Song is a lively picture book based on legendary songwriter Paul Simons classic hit, created when he was one half of the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel.
The song first appeared on their 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. In the US, the album peaked at #4 on Billboards weekly Top 200 albums chart, and eventually went on to sell over three million copies in the US.
With song lyrics by Simon and illustrations by Keith Henry Brown, this picture book follows a rabbit cycling through town, going about his day, and pausing to admire the groovy and lovable aspects of his surroundings.
The 59th Street Bridge Song provides parents a perfect vehicle to teach kids an appreciation of lifes little gifts here in this totally gorgeous book.
The illustrations from Brown are not like many of these books that have already been published as they are of a more precise, more detailed nature than the quick freehand versions of that have gone by.
Indeed, they are more of a lazy, hazy flashback within our minds to the 70s and what we might have witnessed ourselves, without own eyes, had we been lucky enough to witness this cycling rabbit!
About the Author - Paul Simon has received many honors and prizes including twelve GRAMMY Awards, three of which―for Bridge Over Troubled Water, Still Crazy After All These Years, and Graceland―were albums of the year.
In 2003 he received a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award for his work as half of the duo Simon & Garfunkel. He is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, a recipient of their Johnny Mercer Award, and is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame both as a member of Simon & Garfunkel and as a solo artist.
His song Mrs. Robinson from the motion picture The Graduate was named in the top ten of the American Film Institutes 100 Years - 100 Songs list.
Keith Henry Brown (illustrator) worked briefly at Marvel before beginning a career as an art director, working for such notable spots as Jazz at Lincoln Center and Blue Note, as well as many music labels.
He recently illustrated his first childrens book, Birth of the Cool: How Jazz Great Miles Davis Found His Sound.
Official Book Purchase Link
www.AkashicBooks.com