Elvis Is King! by Jonah Winter, Red Nose Studio
Published by Schwartz & Wade Books on January 8th 2019
ISBN: 039955470X
Pages: 40
Goodreads

“Elvis is King” covers the life of Elvis from his birth to his first song being on the radio. Each entry on a particular portion of his life has its own headline followed by a paragraph. The author chose to use stereotypical Southern colloquial speech patterns, which feels entirely unnecessary.  There are also vocabulary words that are too high for a picture book level biography.  The background art is made from found objects like cereal boxes and fabric thread while the main characters are made from polymer clay, and look a tad creepy. There’s a great explanation of how the art was made on the inside of the front cover, but that makes it inaccessible to copies processed in libraries.  An author’s note in the back includes pictures, more details about Elvis’s life, and a link to a website that is said to have further information and a video. As of the writing of this review, that website is not working. Best for grades K-2.

Reviewed by Kara Reiman, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook