Real Love: The Drawings for Sean
By John Lennon
Random House, $12.99
All ages
ISBN 037580174X

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"The reason why kids are crazy is because nobody can face the responsibility of bringing them up." - John Lennon

Real Love: the Drawings for Sean is a touching collection of drawings done by John Lennon for his son Sean. With simple line sketches of elephants, monkeys, turtles, and dogs singing and dancing together, accompanied by humorous captions which give the book a very candid feel, the playful sketches represent the deep relationship Lennon and his young son shared. A foreword written by Yoko Ono describes how Lennon, not the celebrity personality but the father, would proudly show her the drawings he and his son would create together in their Dakota apartment in New York City. The captions are derived from Sean's reactions to Lennon's sketches, and are intended to add laughter to the colorful pages that show us a man and a son teaching each other the value of communication through sharing creative times together.

John Lennon led a life of incredible accomplishments and one can only wonder why a man who gave so much to the world was taken out of it so prematurely at age 40. Not only did he found the world's greatest rock and roll band, the former art student also wrote, painted, and sketched, using his mind and voice in conjunction with his fame to promote peace and benevolence during a time of war and social and cultural upheaval. He was also a father to two boys -- Julian by his first marriage to Cynthia Powell in 1962, and Sean through his second marriage to Yoko Ono in 1975.

After Sean was born, Lennon, nearing 40 and wanting to be a good father, put his musical career on hold for five years to raise the boy, spending practically every hour with him. As Ono describes in the foreword, after Sean was born, Lennon told her, "I'm going to raise this baby, Yoko. You do the business," and he did. This book captures a father and son sharing fun times and no doubt it will evoke a special reading experience for children and adults.

Jamie McAlister is the assistant editor of Port News and lives in Charleston, South Carolina.