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As a child of the 60s, a Dylan fan and a grandmother, I was predisposed to like a book based on "Blowin' in the Wind," but even so I was surprised by how much I like this book. Without taking anything away from the genius of Bob Dylan, Jon J. Muth's artwork is the vehicle that makes the song accessible to young readers, and it's the reason I've added "Blowin' in the Wind" to my list of favorite books to read with grandchildren.

A Bit of History, Musical and Personal

When my friends and I got together as teenagers in the 60s, we almost always ended the evening by singing, and "Blowin' in the Wind" was one of our favorite numbers. We sang it soulfully, though we had only a nascent understanding of the issues that inspired it.

A children's book based on "Blowin' in the Wind" provides an opening for grandparents to tell their grandchildren how they first heard the song, as well as talking about the issues of the time, such as the civil rights movement and the role that Dylan's music played. Very young grandchildren may not be ready for the complete discussion, but I believe that you can talk to children about almost anything as long as you approach it from their level.

Muth Gets the Nod

I can't imagine what it must have been like for Jon J. Muth to be offered the assignment of interpreting Dylan's classic. What an intimidating job! Muth seems a natural choice for those who know his books Zen Shorts and The Three Questions, the latter based on a Tolstoy story.

If the story is simple, yet profound, Muth is your man.

From a traditional narrative viewpoint, there's no story in "Blowin' in the Wind," so it falls to the artist to create one. Muth doesn't create a story in any traditional sense, but he does give the book the feeling of a narrative.

Striking Symbolology

Muth's watercolor illustrations are very beautiful, but the strength of his work in "Blowin' in the Wind" springs from his use of striking and effective visual metaphors. The most obvious is a paper airplane, which Muth states in an artist's note is his visualization of the "answer" in the wind. His use of a a red ball, a red balloon and a guitar could lead to some interesting discussions with grandchildren.

I was curious how the book would handle the themes of death and war, but Muth's touch is as deft in this area as in the rest of the book. He nods at climate change in his illustration for the lines, "Yes, 'n' how many years can a mountain exist / Before it is washed to the sea?" The children's boat floats beside a glacier in water that is filled with icebergs, one of which carries a polar bear. Others of his images are more enigmatic and thus more interesting. Even the end papers add to the book's impact. A phalanx of children shown in silhouette chase after the paper airplane which has become the "white dove" of the song. The images continue to resonate in the mind long after the book is closed.

The Package

Published by Sterling Children's Books, "Blowin' in the Wind" is generously sized and painstakingly produced. Nestled inside the front cover is a CD containing Dylan's iconic 1963 version of the song.

The book includes a note from the artist and one from music historian Greil Marcus. There's no note from Bob Dylan. I guess he thinks that his 600-plus songs speak for him, as indeed they do. This book reinforces what we already knew: There's life in these lyrics yet, and there are new generations who need to hear them.



Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.