Illustrated Friday: Be Water, My Friend

Illustrated biographies are really fun to read, both for kids and for grownups, because they provide an opportunity to learn about people who, most of the time, are left out of history books and curricular materials. Be Water, My Friend is subtitled The Early Years of Bruce Lee, and definitely fits that description.

I can honestly say that I did not know probably 90% of the facts that were included in this book, and I enjoy Bruce Lee's movies quite a bit. Turns out Bruce was a bit of a rabble rouser in his early years! It took him time, just like it does for most people, for him to learn to balance his abilities with the responsibility that comes with having them.

The illustrations are beautifully detailed and, according to the description at the Amazon page for the book, were made by making scratches in beeswax that was melted over acrylic designs on paper. I haven't seen any other books with illustrations that look like this, and even if I had no interest in the subject of the book I would still have enjoyed looking at them.