The Purple One: A Story of Prince

Gr 1-3–Burgess, fresh off his saunter through Edward Gorey’s eccentricities (As Edward Imagined), works with Thada to create a fascinating and vivid picture book biography of music icon Prince. The work traces his journey from childhood to superstardom with an electric narrative. Prince grew up in Minneapolis brimming with musical potential and died unexpectedly at a young age. In subsequent years, as Burgess tells, he’s become even more celebrated and appreciated as one of the greatest musicians and performers of recent times. This dynamic book highlights his early songwriting experience, groundbreaking record deal at age 19, and hit film Purple Rain, which became a global success. His incredible Super Bowl performance is also mentioned. Readers may or may not know of Prince, but they will love discovering a person who forged a unique path to superstardom and created a distinctive style that reshaped music and culture.