Real Love: The Drawings for Sean - Hardcover

Lennon, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316851647 ISBN 13: 9780316851640

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers, 1999

Synopsis

John Lennon was many things to many people, but to his son Sean, he was Daddy, a role he approached with humor, affection, and creativity.

One of the ways John expressed his love for his son was by drawings animals, flowers, and people, and then captioning these sketches with endearing and amusing phrases that he and Sean would come up with as they looked over Daddy’s art. The charming results of these playful collaborations are collected in Real Love: The Drawings for Sean, a book bound to delight both young children and whimsical adults.

A testament to the deep bond felt between parent and child, Real Love is also a record of one of our most gifted creative minds at work. Featuring six never-before-seen pieces of art from John and Sean’s father-son jam sessions, this edition of Real Love is an exclusive collector’s item.

About this title

Review:

John Lennon had two opportunities to be a father. His first son, Julian, was born in 1963 at the dawning of Beatlemania. The impact of the Beatles' success on John and Julian's relationship? Suffice to say Paul McCartney wrote "Hey Jude" as a gesture of sympathy to a forlorn young Julian. Fatherhood fit John Lennon far better the next time around when the indulgent daddy, then in his late 30s, put his musical career on hold to indulge his second son, Sean. Evidence of Lennon the doting dad can be found in this 48-page collection of sun-drenched illustrations sketched out to entertain a toddling offspring. The once-caustic ex-Beatle betrays not a hint of his scathing side in these vivid drawings. Rather, the witty punster who was dubbed the "smart Beatle" after he published the prose collection In His Own Write in 1964 is in full flower here. An illustration christened "Collieflower" shows a budding plant with the face of a canine; "A Frog Pondering" displays a reflective amphibian overlooking a puddle. Real Love is the kind of book that will capture the attention of Beatles collectors, but it should also spark the imaginations of its intended audience--little Lennonists in the making. --Steven Stolder

From the Inside Flap:

John Lennon was many things to many people: singer, songwriter, poet, political activist, and, not the least, the most outspoken member of what is, inarguably, the greatest rock-and-roll band of all time. But to Sean Lennon, he was Daddy, a role he took on with as much humor, intensity, and enthusiasm as any he had tackled.

John made the drawings in this book with and for Sean. Drawing pictures and making up funny captions was one of the ways they played together. It was how John taught Sean about the simple joys of creativity. It was one of the many ways John was able to express his real love for -- and great joy in -- his son.

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0316851647
• ISBN 13: 9780316851640
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 48