NEO•GRIOT

by Tony Medina, illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson, Lee & Low Books (2009)

Bob Marley: the musician, the poet, the visionary, the prophet messenger, the global icon, the reggae legend, the man. He is perhaps the one child of the soil that most Caribbean feel comfortable claiming as their own. How does one begin to explain to children the impact Bob Marley has had (and continues to have) on Caribbean societies and the world?

Tony Medina's powerful picture book, I And I, Bob Marley, is certainly a step in the right direction. When I think about Rudine Sims Bishop's enduring metaphor of "mirrors and windows" (books may be mirrorsproviding children with opportunities to reflect on their own cultures and experiences, or they may be windows through which children examine other cultures and ways of perceiving the world) this book certainly qualifies as both. I cannot think of another children's book that presents the figure of Bob Marley in such a thoughtful and universally accessible way. Caribbean children who are familiar with Bob will recognize the images and many of the references in this book (especially Jamaican children) and children from other cultures who often hear Bob's music without knowing anything about Marley the man, will receive accurate and authentic information about who Bob Marley was. 

I and I, Bob Marley is a work of creative nonfiction. In this case, Medina's series of beautifully-written poems provide a factually accurate narrative of Bob Marely's life from his childhood in Nine Miles, Jamaica and his youth on the streets of Trenchtown, Jamaica, to his rise to international fame and stardom. Like Marley's music itself, Medina's verses are highly poetic, evocative and cut right to the soul. The language of the verses sometimes lapses into unpretentious Jamaican and the poems often "lash" with the griotesque nuances of the reggae tongue. I was personally taken aback by the richness of the imagery in the poems, by Medina's ability to wax poetic about cold, hard facts and history in a way that children can appreciate and understand. The poems, like Watson's rich acrylic illustrations, strikingly capture the Jamaican landscape in all its beauty, harshness, and startling contrasts:

"...Old Trenchtown in Kingston
Over the sewers of Babylon

Pressed against concrete walls
In rickety shacks the rain attacks

Thing tin roofs like bullets from Heaven
Like hard bread from Heaven..."

(from the poem, Trenchtown)

Medina creatively imagines the voice of Bob Marley the child and in doing so we get to see this seer-child in his ordinary surroundings, reading palms at the age of five, coping with the painful absence of his father, grappling with his biracial heritage, closely observing the world around him:

"...The day I left my Nine Miles
My mother said don't cry chile

But I cry a hurricane of pain
She gets me ready in my church clothes 
 

Puts me on the bungo-bungo bus to go
To a school to learn what I do not know

'Cause my papa sends for me
'Cause my papa sends for me..."

(from the poem, When My Papa Sends for Me)

***

"...Papa is a white man so I've been told
My face a map of Africa in Europe's hold

My heart the island where he and she both meet
Ride off on a horse the color of pearl

Leave Mama and me alone to scrape and fuss
Granpapa house us on his farm of Nine Miles dust..."

(from the poem, My Heart the Island)

Indeed, the early poems in the book work to suggest that even at a very young age, Bob Marley "knew things" and was already obviously special. As the book progresses, the poems cover Bob's growth into a young man. We get to hear Bob the young man talk about his love for music which ultimately saves him from the rudeness of the streets. We are with Bob when he talks about making music with his fellow band members in the poem, 'Wailing Wailers. ' We are with him when meets his wife Rita Anderson in the love poem, 'Underneath A Plum Tree,' and the story of how he embraced the Rastafarian faith is told in the poem 'I Am a Rasta Man.' There is even a poem called 'Fate Opens Up Its Hand' which sees Marley the man talking about his love for the game of football (the West Indian name for 'soccer'. Did you know that Bob Marley was a professional level soccer player?)

All in all, the poems in the book work together to show us Bob Marley growing into an awareness of his culture, his people, his history and finally, himself and his destiny:

"...From simmering shantytown
Shacks of Tenchtown

To the freed streets of Zimbabwe
I am hurled

And hailed a Reggae king
With truth as my crown

When the streets of my Jamaica
Threaten war

I join hand-in-hand
Fighting politicians in peace

My songs cry out that
Black blood shall spill no more..."

(from the poem, Music Takes Me)

Clearly, I and I, Bob Marley is a culture-rich book that can be used to stimulate discussions with children and youth about important issues. The themes of music, religion, family, race, class, childhood, coming of age, and poverty all crop up in the book and thus the book is good for broaching these kinds of topics with older children and teenagers. Children and young people who already look up to Bob Marley as a musical idol, will be even more empowered by his story of creative self-expression and personal success. Parents and teachers will appreciate the detailed Notes at the back of the book, which explain the context of each poem, and include encyclopedic information about events and people in Bob Marley's life. There is also a brief explanation of the Rastafarian term, "I and I," in the title of the book, and a foreword from Medina which sums up the impact of Bob Marley and his music on Medina himself, but also on the world.

As for Jesse Joshua Watson's illustrations...well, you can see for yourself. There are so many iconic images of Bob Marley and yet Watson, through the use of photo-realistic drawings, heavy black outlines, large portrait-like compositions, and vibrant colors, is able to place Bob in ordinary settings and yet still retain a quality of the iconic in his poignant illustrations. In fact, Caribbean readers might be surprised to know that both the author and the illustrator are actually both Americans! As I have argued in scholarly papers, cultural authenticity in Caribbean children's books is not a simple matter of the author and illustrator being from the Caribbean. Anyone can write and illustrate a compelling and authentic Caribbean children's book if she or he takes the time to do the proper research, engage with the culture(s) on a meaningful level, and as Betsy Hearne would say, to "respect the source." 

All in all, I and I, Bob Marley is truly an extraordinary children's book, and one that should be in all Caribbean bookstores, in my humble opinion. Ages 8 and up (teenagers and adults will enjoy it too!) 

Related Links

Jesse Joshua Watson's website (check out other cool Caribbean picture books that Watson has illustrated!) 

Tony Medina' page on aalbc.com

Bob Marley: The Official Site 

>via: http://summeredward.blogspot.com/2010/07/i-and-i-bob-marley.html