The Beatles Were Fab (and They Were Funny)

The trio behind Lincoln Tells a Joke crafts a witty chronicle of the Beatles’s rise to fame, with special attention to their humor and nonchalance. Innerst contributes playful caricatures using thick, blotchy acrylics, while Krull and Brewer speckle the story with anecdotes, including the band’s particular fondness for jelly babies (jelly beans were the closest American approximation) and their famously cheeky responses to press questions (“Q: What do you do when you’re cooped up in a hotel room? George: We ice-skate”). The authors make it clear that, even as Beatlemania waned, the Beatles were just beginning to define themselves; an illustration riffing on the cover of Abbey Road pictures a more mature John, Paul, Ringo, and George, hinting at their future experimentation and introspection. Readers will certainly want to hear the songs that “changed music forever”—maybe even on vinyl. Ages 6–9. (Mar.)