About the Author

Ilene Cooper is the author of more than 30 books for young people. In 2007, the Illinois Reading Council named Ilene Cooper the Prairie State Award winner for Excellence in Writing for Children. Ilene was born in Chicago and grew up in the city's Rogers Park neighbourhood. After graduating Sullivan High School, she attended the University of Missouri School of Journalism where she majored in radio and television. She worked as an editorial researcher at Chicago's WGN TV station for several years, but her love of books brought her to Rosary College (now Dominican University), where she earned a master's degree in library science. As a youth librarian, Ilene worked at several branches of the Chicago Public Library and at the Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District before joining Booklist, the review journal of the American Library Association where she is currently the children's books editor. In her spare time, Ilene enjoys knitting, traveling-especially to Italy and England-and trying to get her cat, Bing, to do something other than stretch out on the radiator.

Reviews

“An impressive achievement… “This Boy” is a wonderful primer for the kind of kid who is nuts enough about music to want to grasp the social context in which it was made.”—The New York Times


★“Generously illustrated with period photographs, the beautifully written result is fascinating and compulsively readable, as Cooper dramatically demonstrates that, together, [John Lennon and Paul McCartney] made magic.”—Booklist, starred review

★"Illuminating reading for dreamers and doers already attuned to beats of their own."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review


★ “Cooper masterfully weaves the very different but overlapping lives of [Lennon and ­McCartney]…Lennon’s prickly personality and wild wordplay, compounded by his chaotic family life, is contrasted with McCartney’s loving extended family and his meticulous dedication to craft…An amazing trove of contemporaneous snapshots of the boys and their milieu round out the compelling narrative…A WWII book, a rock ‘n’ roll book, a buddy adventure…Highly recommended for middle graders and middle schoolers.”—School Library Journal, starred review