Music Legends: 40 Inspiring Icons; Hervé Guilleminot, illustrated by Jérôme Masi

Every child deserves a good ‘music’ education and ‘Music Legends: 40 Inspiring Icons' is a great starting point.

Hervé Guilleminot presents forty, of what he deems to be, musical legends and icons. If you put aside personal opinion as to who is and isn’t included - more on this later - it is a solid introduction to some of the biggest names in music since the 1950’s. The forty legends of rock and pop paved the way for other artists to follow, they were trend setters, they redefined musical genres and were synonymous with the music of their generations.

It is fun, informative and fact-filled. Beginning with Elvis Presley and ending with Arcade Fire, acts are presented chronologically. Many of the big names of the last seventy years are featured including: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Nirvana and Beyoncé.

Biographies of each legendary act are presented over double pages. On one page, a short bio provides a brief overview of the act and further information pops up in fact boxes detailing musical influences, significant dates, impressive statistics, discography, notable performances, record breaking records and sales, musical style, influences on the music industry and so on. On the opposite page is a large, simple illustration that shows each act. More facts surround the illustrations often making reference to dress style and appearance.

Entires are obviously going to be very subjective to personal opinion. I struggle with the inclusion of Daft Punk, Blur and Arcade Fire when other artists were missing, most notably: Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Prince, Oasis, Eminem, Fleetwood Mac, Guns N Roses, Johnny Cash, Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder.

Aside from the omission of some very big musical names this is a nice introduction to some of the incredibly talented and defining musical acts of the last seventy years. And if it gets children listening to some of the brilliant music from previous decades then that, for me, can only be a good thing.

Recommended for 7+.