Joni: The Lyrical Life of Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell painted with her words.
Sitting at her piano or strumming the guitar, she turned the words into songs.
The songs were like brushstrokes on a canvas, saying things that were not only happy or sad but true.
But before composing more than two hundred songs, Joni was a young girl from a town on the Canadian prairie, where she learned to love dancing, painting, birdsong, and piano. As she grew up into an artist, Joni took her strong feelings—feelings of love and frustration, and the turbulence that came with being a young woman—and wrote them into vivid songs.
Brought to life by Selina Alko’s rainbow collages and lyrical language, this heartfelt portrait of a feminist and folk icon is perfect for parents, children, and music lovers everywhere.
Back matter includes a letter from the author and Joni’s full discography.
Joni Mitchell painted with her words.
Sitting at her piano or strumming the guitar, she turned the words into songs.
The songs were like brushstrokes on a canvas, saying things that were not only happy or sad but true.
But before composing more than two hundred songs, Joni was a young girl from a town on the Canadian prairie, where she learned to love dancing, painting, birdsong, and piano. As she grew up into an artist, Joni took her strong feelings—feelings of love and frustration, and the turbulence that came with being a young woman—and wrote them into vivid songs.
Brought to life by Selina Alko’s rainbow collages and lyrical language, this heartfelt portrait of a feminist and folk icon is perfect for parents, children, and music lovers everywhere.
Back matter includes a letter from the author and Joni’s full discography.
Joni Mitchell painted with her words.
Sitting at her piano or strumming the guitar, she turned the words into songs.
The songs were like brushstrokes on a canvas, saying things that were not only happy or sad but true.
But before composing more than two hundred songs, Joni was a young girl from a town on the Canadian prairie, where she learned to love dancing, painting, birdsong, and piano. As she grew up into an artist, Joni took her strong feelings—feelings of love and frustration, and the turbulence that came with being a young woman—and wrote them into vivid songs.
Brought to life by Selina Alko’s rainbow collages and lyrical language, this heartfelt portrait of a feminist and folk icon is perfect for parents, children, and music lovers everywhere.
Back matter includes a letter from the author and Joni’s full discography.
Written and Illustrated by Selina Alko
Selina Alko grew up in Canada, like Joni Mitchell. And like Joni, Selina has been a painter since she was a child. She loves mixing materials together to create artwork for her award-winning children’s books. Besides working in her studio, Selina likes to travel, be involved in her community, and spend time with her children. Selina makes her home in Brooklyn, New York, with her family and their two parakeets, Sunny and Snowy.
48 pages
Recommended for ages 4+
JUVENILE NONFICTION: Biography & Autobiography
