FICTION

One Love

Based on the Song by Bob Marley
, adapt. One Love: Based on the Song by Bob Marley. illus. by Vanessa Brantley-Newton. unpaged. CIP. Chronicle. 2011. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4521-0224-5; ebook $12.99. ISBN 978-1-4521-1019-6. LC 2010052635.
COPY ISBN
PreS-K—The message of this picture-book adaptation of the famous reggae musician's well-known song is laudable, and the words are simple and rhythmic: "One love, what my family gives to me. One love, what the flower gives the bee. One love, what Mother Earth gives the tree. One love, one heart, let's get together and feel all right!" This tribute by Marley's daughter contains a few lyrics on each page against a backdrop of Brantley-Newton's exuberant illustrations that tell the story of urban neighbors creating a park from what was once a garbage-strewn lot. The illustrations do the bulk of the work in this title, which would work well with Pat Brisson's Wanda's Roses (Boyds Mills, 2000).—Lisa Egly Lehmuller, St. Patrick's Catholic School, Charlotte, NC
The lyrics to "One Love," by reggae great Bob Marley (the adapter's father), accompany a smiling girl who spends her day participating in a multi-generational neighborhood cleanup and ensuing celebration. Like most lyrics flowed into a picture book format, these are listless on the page, burdening the illustrator to supply the music. Brantley-Newton's pictures have the spirit (if not the depth).

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