Joni: The Lyrical Life of Joni Mitchell

This slim book is an homage to one of our greatest songwriters, Joni Mitchell. With beautiful illustrations, the author depicts the life and trials of her subject. She is obviously a fan and has followed Ms. Mitchell’s career and song history. Many of her illustrations are delightfully whimsical, like the taximeter reading “Woodstock” (a destination that Joni Mitchell did not make, despite her tribute song). Despite being the illustrator of children’s books, this book is not quite for children. While the illustrations are wonderfully and simply rendered, the text is more complex and adult.

It is a beautiful book for fans of Joni Mitchell or those who want to become a little more familiar with her life. An illustration at the book’s end features many of Joni’s album covers, and it is fun to see the artist’s output on a double spread. This is a very personal book by one artist having been inspired by another. The book is almost the size of an album cover, so one could slip it in among a reader’s Joni Mitchell collection.