Elvis had appeared on three network television shows before the Sullivan show. The heartfelt Author’s Note contains an inaccuracy: “In September of that year, made his first television appearance on the very popular Ed Sullivan Show.” That is not true. Unfortunately, the back matter is disappointing. The excitable voice in the text begs to be read aloud, but it will also resonate if read silently. My only quibble with the illustrations is that they don’t make Elvis as handsome as he was in real life, but then again, how could they? Made of clay and other materials, the scenes seem three-dimensional and invite close examination. The Red Nose Studios illustrations are incredible. Beginning with Elvis’s childhood and ending after his first national record becomes a hit, Elvis is King! captures the highs of his early career without delving into some of the sordid excesses of the later years. Along the way, Elvis is presented as an earnest, determined iconoclast with endless talent. Jonah Winter’s Elvis is King! tells the story of Elvis Presley’s rise from poverty to music superstar. He really liked the look of the weird claymation stuff. The nephew thought this was good and he gave it 3 stars. I have to admit, I’m not a big Elvis fan. We also talked about being able to walk through his house Graceland. My parents live an hour from Memphis, so we also spoke of that area and what it was like. We saw an old video of Jailhouse rock for the kids and they sure did like his music.

I do wish they would have included the time Elvis bought his momma a pink cadillac. This was a good introduction to his life. I guess the name is too much of a burden to use. He was so popular and I would have thought many of those girls would have named their children Elvis and there would be an army of Elvis’s out there, but that never really happened. You know one thing that surprises me about Elvis. This is basically a biography of Elvis in picture book form.

The artwork is of 3 dimensional sets that look like claymation.

Elvis Is King! by Jonah Winter