Children's Books discussion

In January, the Picture Book Club will celebrate artists. The theme will encompass both fiction and non-fiction titles. I'm hoping we will include a range of artists, from biographies of famous professionals to fiction titles about children expressing themselves through paint and other art mediums.

Please feel welcome to continue to add to this "master list" of great picture books about artists.

*It dawned on me that two of the books in our December selections, Harold and the Purple Crayon and Extra Yarn would also fit with the Artists theme. I am not officially nominating them but wanted to post them here to become part of the eventual "Master List"*

A few nominations of the top of my head (I have read and enjoyed all of these):

For younger kids:

Ish by Peter H. Reynolds

Liang and the Magic Paintbrush by Demi

Bridget's Beret (excellent book! incorporates real art masterpieces with the young girl's journey to be an artist herself) by Tom Lichtenheld

Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade (non-fiction biography; one of my favorite books this year!) by Melissa Sweet

Art by Patrick McDonnell


The Imaginary Garden by Andrew Larsen

A Day with No Crayons by Elizabeth Rusch

The Pencil by Allan Ahlberg

For older kids (all biographies):

Leonardo's Horse by Jean Fritz

Hokusai: The Man Who Painted a Mountain

Wanda Gág: The Girl Who Lived to Draw

(both by by Deborah Kogan Ray)

I am a docent at an art museum (currently on a sabbatical) and there are many great books for K through elementary that we use for children in the Family programs on Saturday mornings (crafts & tour).

Linnea in Monet's Garden by Christina Björk -- very popular!

Dali and the Path of Dreams by Anna Obiols

Many books by Laurence Anholt --
Camille and the Sunflowers
Picasso and the Girl with a Ponytail
Leonardo and the Flying Boy

The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse
Louie!
Badly Drawn Dog
Run, Hare, Run!: The Story of a Drawing

My Hands Sing the Blues: Romare Bearden's Childhood Journey 6+

The Dinosaurs Of Waterhouse Hawkins 4+

Uncle Andy's: A Faabbbulous Visit With Andy Warhol 3+

I Am Marc Chagall 8+

Into the Woods: John James Audubon Lives His Dream 6+

Vincent Van Gogh: Sunflowers and Swirly Stars 5+

Frida 4+

Paris in the Spring with Picasso 4+

The Art of Miss Chew 5+

Georgia Rises: A Day in the Life of Georgia O'Keeffe 8+

The Naked Lady 5+

The Art Room 4+

Bijou, Bonbon and Beau: The Kittens Who Danced for Degas 2+

Dinner at Magritte's 8+

The Young Artist 7+

Chasing Degas 4+

Charlotte in New York 4+

The Painter 4+

Here's Looking at Me: How Artists See Themselves 8+

Self-Portrait With Seven Fingers 6+

The Mysterious Collection of Dr. David Harleyson 4+

Action Jackson 6+

Oooh! Picasso 5+

The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson: An Introduction 10+

Sky Color 4+

Gugu's House 5+

Age suggestions are form Amazon, and I take no responsibility as to their veracity.

A Caldecott Celebration: Six Artists and their Paths to the Caldecott Medal 6+

Mousterpiece 3+

Scribbles and Ink 7+

Library Mouse: A Museum Adventure 4+

Just Behave, Pablo Picasso! 4+

Leonardo's Pallet 7+

Micawber 4+

Setting the Turkeys Free 4+

Bottle Houses: The Creative World of Grandma Prisbrey 5+

Audubon: Painter of Birds in the Wild Frontier 7+

The Sign Painter 4+

The Starry Night 4+

Great theme. Here are some of my favorites:

You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum

You Can't Take a Balloon into the National Gallery

You Can't Take a Balloon into the Museum of Fine Arts

Art Fraud Detective: Spot the Difference, Solve the Crime!

Museum ABC

Kamishibai Man

Jamaica Louise James

Here are a few:

The Art Lesson tells about Tomie dePaola's first lessons and his frustration with the rules

My Name Is Georgia: A Portrait by Jeanette Winter - story about Georgia O'Keeffe

Claude and Sun - about Claude Monet

Milli, Jack and the Dancing Cat a wonderful tale about creativity

Thanks, everyone, for the fabulous nominations! I am already excited about our January selections and I don't even know what the chosen five will be :-)

It is now time to VOTE for your five choices. Votes will be accepted until December 17th.

My votes:

Hokusai: The Man Who Painted a Mountain

Dali and the Path of Dreams

Kamishibai Man

Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian

Just Behave, Pablo Picasso!

I vote
A Day with No Crayons
Dinner at Magritte's
Dali and the Path of Dreams
Art
The Art Lesson

So hard to narrow down these great nominations to just 5!

My votes got to:

Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian
The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse
Paris in the Spring with Picasso
The Naked Lady
Dinner at Magritte's

A Day with No Crayons
Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian
Dinner at Magritte's
Art
Kamishibai Man

I vote:
Kamishibai Man
Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian
The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse
The Art Lesson
The Starry Night

The votes are in and the winners are...

Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian

Kamishibai Man

Dinner at Magritte's

A Day with No Crayons

Art

Sixth/Alternate:
The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse

Thanks to all for the nominations and votes. I think we have a great group of books here! I look forward to discussing them with you in January, and wish you good luck in finding them in the meantime.

This thread now becomes the "Master List and General Discussion" so feel free to add titles to the list if you think they are appropriate or to make comments about any of the books not chosen as our official six if you find something especially noteworthy. Thanks!

Pish, Posh, Said Hieronymus Bosch

I just enjoyed The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau and recommend it to everyone following this thread.

Here are my reviews of a few art books that I've read and enjoyed in addition to the 6 we read for the club.

Bridget's Beret
Bridget is an artist. An artist who wears a beret just like so many other great artists...Monet, Cezanne, Picasso, Rembrandt, and Sisley. She always wore her beret as she painted and drew...until one day her beret blew right off her head as she painted outside. She chased it but couldn't catch it. She is devastated...she tries other hats, but none are right. She knows she will never be able to paint again. But when her sister needs her help, she slowly sees that it isn't her beret that makes her an artist.

The illustrations are fun and I love her lemonade signs inspired by other great artists. They made me smile! Well worth reading.

I also appreciated the last two pages where Lichtenheld shows some of the great works of art by famous artists and then gives ideas on how kids could use these as inspiration for their own artwork. Lichtenheld definitely has a sense of humor. For example, he shows an example of Italian artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo who painted people as if they were made of vegetables. He writes, "He probably did it to avoid eating his broccoli and carrots. 'Mom, I can't eat this broccoli because I have to use it as a model for my friend's head.'" He encourages young artists to draw a picture of a friend using a bunch of vegetables and to call your art "vegetabilism". :)

Mousterpiece
Jansen the mouse lives in a museum. She loves to look at the art. When part of the museum is closed for renovation and there is no artwork there, Jansen begins hanging her own artwork there. Her artwork is inspired by other great artists and always features a mouse. I love that at the end, her greatest masterpiece is own that she created in her own unique style rather than by copying someone else. Nice book to introduce kids to some of the great works of art and to show that we each react differently to different styles of art.

The Art of Miss Chew
I love Patricia Polacco. I particularly love her autobiographical books, especially Junkyard Wonders and Thank You, Mr. Falker. As a teacher, I appreciate the tributes she pays to her teachers and am inspired to try to be a better teacher for my own students. This, in my mind, goes right along with those two. This is the story of Miss Chew who taught an art class that Patricia attended. Miss Chew teaches Patricia to see, really see, and then to draw. She also has great insight into Patricia's reading difficulties and gets her additional help with her reading. She is an example of a teacher who truly gets to know her students, who sees their strengths and gifts as well as their areas of difficulty and who goes beyond to make a difference in the life of one little girl. (Her classroom teacher, Mr. Donovan, is also in this book and he is wonderful as well.) This showcases some of her challenges and her triumphs. I found her letter to the reader touching as well. She mentions that so many schools have no money to support art, music and other programs. She writes, "How could this be? Art teaches us to speak a language that originates in the heart, the soul, and earliest memories. How could any course be more important?" I am no artist, but I too lament the fact that so many schools (including the school where I teach) have limited or no art and music programs.

The DotGreat teacher that helps Vashti to see that everyone has creative/artistic potential. Everyone can make a dot (or a squiggle). And that dot (or squiggle) has the potential to become great art... and to inspire confidence in a young child.

I'd also like to mention that the book The Illustrator's Notebook that we read for the International Book Club also belongs on this list, in my opinion. I read it this month at the same time as I read these other titles and made many connections between them.

Jenny wrote: "Here are my reviews of a few art books that I've read and enjoyed in addition to the 6 we read for the club."

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on these books, Jenny!!! I am a big fan of Bridget's Beret and The Dot. I am also a Patricia Polacco fan and The Art of Miss Chew is on my to-read list already (I want to bump it up now that I've read your great review!) Mousterpiece is new to me and sounds adorable! Thanks again :-)

I agree that if a book fits more than one theme, we members should try to remember to make sure it's mentioned in each appropriate thread. Thanks, Jenny, for all you've shared!

I also recommend The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau. Amanda Hall's art is lush and the story of Henri enduring the critics and continuing to paint until he is recognized as a brilliant artist is inspiring.

Don't miss the book trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvaJtq...

The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau, for the link.

While looking for Dinner at Magritte'sat our local library we found another book, Magritte's Marvelous Hat. I didn't see it mentioned here and we really enjoyed reading this one as well.

Thanks, Anna and Dolly! Those look great.

Had some trouble finding our books this month but found 5&6.

Art the book was tremendous fun and showed what I love about 'art' and what we can share with children - art is messy and it enjoys all the weirdness and wonder of the outer limits of our imagination. Especially useful for kids going thru a year with a teacher who's a bit 'between the lines'.

Eric Carle's Blue Horse was not what I was expecting, but I really enjoyed his sideways take on the traditional 'colour'' book. I'm curious how little kids found it, as mine are too old now. Did they care that the colours weren't 'right'?

Linda wrote: "Had some trouble finding our books this month but found 5&6.

Art the book was tremendous fun and showed what I love about 'art' and what we can share with children - art is messy and it enjoys al..."

I'm glad you were able to find two of them and that they proved enjoyable :-)

I haven't been able to get my hands on a copy yet, but Peter H. Reynolds has a new book out called Sky Color that has been getting some great reviews.

I read Pish, Posh, Said Hieronymus Bosch last week (or earlier this week...I can't recall) and really enjoyed it. I've never heard of Hieronymus Bosch before, but enjoyed this tribute to him and loved the Dillon's artwork. I really enjoyed this theme and hope to eventually read most/all of the books on this list.

It's only somewhat related, but I've found a site run by an art teacher that I really love. She has great lesson plans and many are connected to literature. I've used several in my classroom and a couple with my own kids. I'm sure it isn't the only great site like this but figured since I love it I'd share it anyway.
http://www.deepspacesparkle.com/

Adding When Pigasso Met Mootisse because I really got a kick out of it, and it not only showed the two artists' different styles really well, but it was a neat story about friendship, too. Author's notes included.

I didn't see the following book listed above. It is an older picture book, published in 1990, about an artist whose paintings come to life.

The Incredible Painting of Felix Clousseau by Jon Agee

Dorothea's Eyes: Dorothea Lange Photographs the Truth. This is the best picture book on Dorothea Lange I have read and in my opinion totally superior to Dorothea Lange: The Photographer Who Found the Faces of the Depression.

(view spoiler)[With an often understated and sparse but always lyrically enchanting and entrancing narrative (that flows both sweetly and at times also somewhat sadly and painfully), Barb Rosenstock's Dorothea's Eyes: Dorothea Lange Photographs the Truth presents and depicts the uplifting and hearteningly encouraging biography of American photography pioneer and legend Dorothea Lange, and how she is able to persevere and overcome both her struggles with childhood polio (and the resulting nastiness and bullying that her being left with a pronounced limp engender) and her immigrant family's staunch disapproval of her desire to become, to learn how to be a photographer (this not being considered "ladylike"), in other words, how to pursue and embrace her dreams and desires (using cameras, using the medium of photography to capture the truth, to capture what she, what her eyes and heart see and perceive and want to share with the world).

Undaunted by her family's annoyance and anger at her decision and equally undaunted by her polio related physical challenges, Dorothea relentlessly and fearlessly canvasses photographers' studios, asking for any kind of work, helping to build darkrooms, and above all learning how to use and manipulate the heavy cameras, and develop and mount photographs. And when at the age of twenty-three, Dorothea sets off on a trip around the world, she does not let the fact that all of her money is stolen in San Francisco discourage her; she seizes the opportunity to get a job developing photographs and then start her own San Francisco portrait studio (which soon becomes famous and an "in" place for San Francisco's elite to have their portraits taken). But soon Dorothea begins to realise that what she really desires and craves is to capture with her camera the current social climate of the United States, the faces, the lives and the myriad of stories of the victims of the Great Depression. Thus (and although this is generally and usually physically painful and tiring for her) Dorothea takes to the road to photograph the working poor, migrant farm workers, the jobless, families living in cramped decrepit automobiles (and even though her family and friends consider it at best strange that Dorothea would spend her time, her energy and use her photographic talents to take pictures of "poor people" Dorothea sees this as her purpose in life, to capture for posterity and for remembrance the images of those that we ignore and would rather choose to forget).

And while the five years Dorothea spends canvassing over twenty US states and taking picture after picture of the victims of the Great Depression, of the working poor, the unemployed, those with no real homes are tiring and physically exhausting (as especially her polio affected leg hurts always and without remission), newspapers and magazines begin to increasingly print and publish Dorothea's images, not only making her more and more both nationally and internationally famous and respected as a photographer, as an artist, but also and perhaps even more importantly, confronting the American people (both citizens and politicians) with the reality of poverty, the reality of struggle, of what the Great Depression has wrought and its many victims (and it is actually her very photographs, Dorothea's captured and published images, that are amongst the reasons why the U.S. federal government finally decides to act and to try to provide jobs for the unemployed, and families with safe and clean homes).

Now while the main star of Dorothea's Eyes is of course author Barb Rosenstock's gloriously descriptive, evocative and sweetly lyrical and emotion-inducing text, Gérard DuBois' accompanying illustrations are also simply and utterly lovely and do very much provide an in all manner wonderful and imaginative compliment to and mirror of the presented narrative. Although by themselves, I would not necessarily consider them personal favourites, DuBois' illustrations are indeed a more than immensely worthy accompaniment to Rosenstock's printed words, as they spectacularly and with realistic imagination mirror both the time and place as well as the emotions and feelings of the author's words and vocabulary images (and as such, they are indeed for me personally as absolutely glorious and as evocative as the latter). Especially the reddish and fuzzily muted depiction of Dorothea in her darkroom always sends shivers of appreciation up and down my spine (and really does so much enhance the narrative, the author's description of Dorothea's relentless and determined pursuit of becoming a photographer), but really, ALL of the images, all of Gérard Dubois' illustrations evoke in me the same kind of emotion and sense of awe that Barb Rosenstock's text creates.

And even today, Dorothea Lange's photographs are still as powerful and as evocative as when she took them in the 1930s; they have lost none of their appeal, they have lost none of their strength of image (which can be easily seen within the pages of Dorothea's Eyes, as author Barb Rosenstock has appreciatively included a number of them, including the photograph of a migrant farm worker mother which is now considered one of the most famous and reproduced photographs in history). Now just from my immense liking (actually my intense love) of both text and image (and the sweet and evocative marriage of the two), my rating for Dorothea's Eyes is most definitely already a very high five stars, but what has moved Dorothea's Eyes from merely an appreciated and much enjoyed five star picture book biography to a permanent resident on my favourites shelf is the informative author's note at the back (which also includes a bibliography, suggestions for further reading, quotations sources, as well as a time line). Dorothea's Eyes is what I would glowingly and unilaterally label a perfect children's picture book biography (and is to be highly recommended to and for anyone, both children and adults). (hide spoiler)]

Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave Not bad but not OwnVoices and feels a bit like whitewashing and ignoring the hardships faced by Dave the Potter as a slave.

(view spoiler)[So yes, although I have certainly enjoyed reading in Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave how Dave is imagined by author Laban Carrick Hill creating and forming his distinctive pottery, and indeed how he, how Dave, is clearly and sweetly lyrically shown to obviously also achieve and receive very much personal fulfilment, pleasure and even joy from his art, I am sorry, but there is nevertheless just a certain something about Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave and in particular regarding Laban Carrick Hill's presented text which really does tend to make me more than a bit personally uncomfortable.

For albeit that Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave certainly does once or twice within the text proper mention Dave's status as a slave, I for one do not think that Laban Carrick Hill focussing with his lyrical verses almost entirely on Dave the artist and really almost never on Dave the slave is (and especially in a book published in 2010) the politically correct way to proceed. Because yes, it certainly does seem (to and for me) as though Laban Carrick Hill is rather whitewashing the realities and horrors of slavery when he with Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave focusses so exclusively on Dave's pottery and his artistic talents that one does kind of feel as though the author, as though Hill is (even if likely inadvertently) saying that Dave the Potter's slavery is not really so much of an issue, that the ONLY thing really of actual and real bona fide significance is that Dave was a talented artist, potter and poet.

And while Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave is certainly and definitely a lyrical celebration of Dave's artistry and of his attitudes towards his pottery being very much his life, with Bryan Collier's Caldecott Honour winning accompanying artwork totally visually and aesthetically reflecting and mirroring Laban Carrick Hill's poetry, for me, the decided lack of focus in Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave on Dave's life as a slave and that Hill (and by extension also Collier) really are for the most part only concentrating on Dave's pottery and how he artistically sees himself and the world, this has certainly rather lessened my reading pleasure, and thus, only a rather grudging three star rating for Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave (because I really also desire to know about Dave’s life and his limitations as a slave, and yes, within Laban Carrick Hill’s actual poetry and not just in the supplemental information section). (hide spoiler)]

The Naked Lady (bet the hysterical puritans would try to get this book banned since oh horror).

(view spoiler)[So yes, I do in fact kind of if not even rather majorly think that the book title of Ian Wallace’s The Naked Lady (which is seemingly also based on author and illustrator Ian Wallace’s own childhood) is perhaps being just a wee bit too overly focussing on the fact that the first work of art young first person narrator Tom sees when he visits his new neighbour with a gift of his mother’s fruit pie is indeed an outdoors sculpture of a nude woman dancing (and which then turns out to be a rendition of the artist’s recently deceased wife of over forty years and of course also his main model).

For while part of The Naked Lady naturally deals with the fact that a sculpture (or indeed also a painting) of an unclothed woman, of an unclothed human is in fact not to be simply called nakedness but an artistic nude (and also not something depraved, but instead an example of tender and sweet visual artistry), in my humble opinion, the bulk of Ian Wallace’s presented text actually seems to deal more with art often being a way of life, how Pieter is using his art as a way of dealing with his sadness concerning his wife’s death and how he also ends up lighting the fire of artistic imagination in the first person narrator (young Tom but really and in fact Ian Wallace as a twelve year old boy) and whose sweet inter-generational friendship with Pieter totally inspires him to want to become an artist like the latter.

A wonderful combination of delightful and heartfelt text and visually both stunning and aesthetically interesting and engagingly descriptive images is The Naked Lady. And no, there is in my opinion also absolutely nothing even remotely inappropriate and wrong regarding the fact that both textually and visually, Ian Wallace depicts and describes Pieter’s Evangelina sculpture as being totally without clothes (albeit that I guess I will still consider giving the grudging caveat that a naked female sculpture is indeed both illustrated and verbally described in The Naked Lady, but that I also and certainly do majorly point out that there is nothing even remotely sexual or inappropriate in content or feel here and that Ian Wallace is simply presenting Evangelina as a work of exquisite and with delightful love rendered work of sculpture, of concrete art). (hide spoiler)]

Lovely and also partially infuriating is Paris in the Spring with Picasso

(view spoiler)[It is indeed very much true that both Joan Yolleck's narrative and Marjorie Priceman's accompanying illustrations give a wonderful and evocative general feel and exuberance to Paris in the Spring With Picasso, an authentic description and demonstration of the joie de vivre, the artistic energy of early 20th century Paris (and I can therefore certainly also and absolutely understand just why so many artists, like for example Gertrude Stein and Pablo Picasso flocked there).

And truth be told, while I have indeed quite enjoyed both text and illustrations in Paris in the Spring With Picasso, I also do have to admit that I actually somewhat prefer the latter, that I have indeed found Joan Yolleck's narrative, her choice of printed words and expressions not quite as sweetly and glowingly magical as Marjorie Priceman's pictorial offerings, which yes, are bold and bright, and as such also so perfectly capture the energy, the artistic sentiment of early 20th century Paris. To me, Marjorie Priceman’s artwork is actually even reminiscent of the colours, the movement, the energy, the very feel of expressionism and surrealism; they completely and utterly evoke Paris, the artistic mecca that was Paris. However, there also is so much textual information presented in Paris in the Spring With Picasso, so many details, in fact, that unfortunately, the flow of the author's, of Joan Yolleck's presented narrative is, or at least can seem at times somewhat overly dense, even convoluted and disjointed. For I do know that I personally did become rather a bit distracted whilst reading, and I wonder if that might also (and likely even more so) be the case for children reading or listening to the text (and I would definitely thus consider Paris in the Spring With Picasso considerably more suited for older children, as in my humble opinion, it really is a bit too complicated and involved for reading with and to the very young).

And furthermore, I also have to wonder why the author has not included a bilingual glossary for the French words and expressions used. For since Joan Yolleck does in fact and appreciatively include excellent and informative biographical notes at the back of Paris in the Spring With Picasso, it would have been easy and also reasonable to have also included a language glossary. True, most of the French words and expressions found in Paris in the Spring With Picasso are indeed more than easy enough to figure out from the context, but I actually had to look up one of the French words used in a dictionary, the word "zinzolin." Now from Joan Yolleck’s narrative, I was quite positive that "zinzolin" likely was describing a type of colour (which it in fact did), but I of course wanted to be sure of my assumption. But even though having to look up a few words in a dictionary is not in any way a major problem for me, if this were to happen whilst reading a picture book aloud to a child or a group of children, it could easily disrupt the flow of the narrative.

Finally, and on a more personal (and annoyed) level, I also really do wish that Joan Yolleck had not simply in Paris in the Spring With Picasso described Alice B. Toklas as being Gertrude Stein's so-called best friend. For the two of them were most certainly a romantic couple, and in my opinion, even the author's words and vocabulary choices clearly demonstrate this. And yes, in this day and age, we should really be enlightened enough and brave enough to consider Alice B. Toklas as Gertrude Stein's partner, as her spouse. And indeed, claiming Alice B. Toklas as Gertrude Stein's best friend not only somewhat trivialises their entire relationship, it also gives a false or a potentially false image of their relationship to children reading Paris in the Spring With Picasso or having it read to them. And while I would and do still strongly recommend this book to and for older children interested in the art and artists of the early 20th century, if I were reading Paris in the Spring With Picasso with or to children, you bet that I would most definitely comment on and discuss my issues regarding Yolleck’s textual description of the relationship between Alice B. Toklas and Getrude Stein with them. (hide spoiler)]

A bit like the Where's Wally books, but with an art theme, is Where's Warhol?: Take a journey through art history with Andy Warhol!

(view spoiler)[Even though trying to locate the multiple art, pop culture and history related people, animals and objects in Catherine Ingram and Andrew Rae’s fun and delightfully engaging (but also at the same time enlightening and informative) Where’s Warhol? has been at times quite difficult, hard on my ageing eyes and even a trifle headache producing, I certainly did have very much fun searching and finding (and much more so than I ever did with the ubiquitous Where’s Waldo? books on which Where’s Warhol? is of course loosely based, mostly because, well, searching for art, pop culture and history based images is for me and bien sûr much more interesting and fun than looking for Waldo and company engaged in generally basic everyday activities on the street, on the beach and the like, with many of the activities being shown also often presenting themselves as too deliberately and painfully silly for my personal tastes).

But as much as I have enjoyed poring over the art and history scenes depicted in Where’s Warhol?, taking in the diverse atmospheres, the visuals and naturally looking for the hidden and to be located images (Studio 54, The Garden of Earthly Delights, Michelangelo Paints the Sistine Chapel, Marie Antoinette’s Execution, Pompeii, On the Beach, Trouville, the Bauhaus and five further spreads), for me, what makes Where’s Warhol? so utterly brilliant and as such also much superior to many of the “search-and-find” books I have read, I have tried over the years is that for one (and for me this has absolutely been most heart-fully appreciated) the to be located objects and people are both verbally and illustratively listed at the back of Where’s Warhol? so that one knows and can picture what is to be searched for and found, and that for two, each of the twelve illustrations are also meticulously and in detail explained and analysed by I assume Catherine Ingram, making Where’s Warhol? also and equally a good basic introduction to art, history, pop culture and of course to Andy Warhol (and indeed, if there had also been a bit of a bibliography listed with further reading suggestions, my four star ranking for Where’s Warhol would without a doubt be five stars). (hide spoiler)]

Drawn Together Liked this but am annoyed that no one thought to teach the young boy his family's native language so he could communicate with the grandfather.

(view spoiler)[While I absolutely love and appreciate the presented message of Minh Lê's Drawn Together that one can also communicate with other methods than using words and speech (and how the little boy and his grandfather soon realise that their shared love of art and drawing can indeed bridge their communication issues and result in both understanding and having fun, having a good time together), the language oriented part of myself does kind of question and wonder why for one the little boy has not been taught even some of his grandfather's language (which I believe is Vietnamese) and why for two the grandfather has equally not learned even a few words of rudimentary English. For honestly, I do find it personally rather problematic that there is such a total and complete verbal communication block and lack shown by Minh Lê in Drawn Together, that obviously neither the grandfather nor his grandson have been taught, have learned how to communicate in both Vietnamese and English in even a very simple and basic manner, as that to and for me should be the respectful and the right way to proceed, to show that both languages, that both Vietnamese and English are equally deserving of being taught and learned and that in particular, the little boy's parents should in my opinion and definitely have made him learn both a bit of Vietnamese and to also have taught him to appreciate Vietnamese cuisine as being part of his culture.

Thus, while as mentioned above, I do appreciate how with art, the little boy and his grandfather find understanding, appreciation of one another and good companionship even though they cannot verbally communicate in the same language (and while I have and for me surprisingly at that absolutely loved Dan Santat's accompanying illustrations, which are imaginative and visually awe-inspiring without feeling and looking aesthetically artificial and contrived), I do have to admit that indeed, I would enjoy Drawn Together considerably more if there had been at least some vestiges of successful verbal communication between grandson and grandfather depicted by Minh Lê, if the author had shown the grandfather speaking a few words of English to the little boy and the grandson speaking a few words of Vietnamese to the grandfather (and indeed, a few simple phrases of greeting and other such common expressions would suffice). (hide spoiler)]

Virginia Wolf Really delightful but wanted more info on Virginia Wolf's life.

(view spoiler)[Loosely based on British author Virginia Woolf's relationship with her older sister, modernest painter Vanessa Bell, what I appreciate and love first and foremost about Virginia Wolf is how author Kyo Maclear depicts and describes both a lovely and tender picture of sisterly love and affection (even when one of the sisters, when Virginia, is acting grumpy and even totally in a stand-offish and wolfish manner) and furthermore that she (that Kyo Maclear) also gently but not ever didactically introduces the concept and consideration that Virginia's behaviours might well not be simply a case of a bad mood but the onset of mental health challenges (which in Virginia Wolf her sister both seems to understand and try to mitigate, to assuage with treats, close physical contact, music and finally by using the one and only method that seems to work with regard to raising Virginia's mood and turning her back into a little girl, with joyful art and imaginative colour, but also and importantly with much patience and intense love). And no, indeed, Virginia Wolf does not in ANY WAY portray a nasty little girl who uses her bad mood to deliberately make her sister miserable (as I have unfortunately read in some online reviews of Virginia Wolf), it simply shows in Virginia a little girl who is obviously suffering from a serious bout of juvenile depression and how her sister Vanessa tries to and finally succeeds in helping to break Virginia's wolfishness, her depression and make her sister happy and smiling again.

An absolutely lovely, quirky and yes, emotionally engaging little gem is Virginia Wolf, with Isabelle Arsenault's accompanying illustrations providing an equally wonderful and delightful mirror of and for Kyo Maclear's written words (and while I am not always a huge fan of Isabelle Arsenault's artwork, in Virginia Wolf, her drawings have certainly been absolutely exquisite, in my opinion even presenting the main storyline as imaginatively and as sweetly as the author's presented narrative). Five stars for the to and for me totally delightful, engaging and emotionally tender combination of Kyo Maclear's text and Isabelle Arsenault's images, but unfortunately, I am still going to lower my final ranking of Virginia Wolf to four stars, as I do think that Kyo Maclear definitely should have included a supplemental author's note on Virginia Woolf's life and times and yes, that she did indeed suffer from serious mental health issues for most of her life (challenges which are now thought to have likely been bi-polar disorder). (hide spoiler)]

Expressionists is a really superb introduction to German Expressionism (penned for younger readers but in my opinion more than suitable for adults as well).

(view spoiler)[Penned by Merilyn Holme and Bridget McKenzie in 2002, in my humble opinion, Expressionists informatively and with much delightful and never exaggerated textual engagement manages to accomplish what sadly ALL other books I have read to date regarding Expressionism (regarding the German art, architecture, cinematic and literary movement) that are supposed to be geared towards younger readers rather majorly fail to do, namely to provide an introduction to Expressionism that is neither too simplistic nor textually overly complicated and difficult.

And indeed and very much appreciatively, Expressionists gives a solid and sufficiently extensive account of Expressionism (for readers from about the age of eleven or twelve onwards, but frankly, also for adults wanting something basic and not too complex) and which textually has the authors, which has Merilyn Holme and Bridget McKenzie not only covering the basics of Expressionism succinctly, clearly and understandably (both in a general sense and also focussing with more detail on fourteen specific artists, albeit that other significant names of Expressionism are also mentioned but of course and naturally not with quite as much of an emphasis) but also delving a bit more deeply where required without thankfully and fortunately becoming convoluted and overly involved, and with Holme's and McKenzie's text for Expressionists wonderfully showing what Expressionism was, why and how it was a specifically German cultural movement but also had roots and influences outside of Germany as well, a book therefore that shows pretty much every part every aspect of Expressionism (including how many Expressionists wrongfully at first believed and assumed that WWI was meant to destroy the old and usher in a new society and with tragic consequences as many Expressionist artists and authors willingly enlisted and were all too often like for example Franz Marc and August Macke killed in action, and that the majority of Expressionist artists, authors etc. were also persecuted and considered degenerated by the Nazis, banned from practicing their careers and often had to flea into exile).

Combined with representations of the presented artists most famous, most well known works (and usually in fill colour as well), Expressionists is both a textual and a visual treasure, perfect for showing Expressionism, early to mid 20th century German (and also European) culture and history as it relates to Expressionism, and with included the timelines, glossary and the bibliographical resources (both books and websites) providing not only the icing on an already most delicious cake for me but also making Expressionists a great starring point for further study and research (but with the caveat that Merilyn Holme and Bridget McKenzie are of course due to the 2002 publication date of Expressionists not include any resources past that date, but that is of course ALWAYS the case with non fiction and to be expected). (hide spoiler)]

Yes, Harold and the Purple Crayon (and its sequels) do definitely fit into a thread about art and artists.

(view spoiler)[After finally having had a chance to read Crocket Johnson's Harold and the Purple Crayon (which I unfortunately never did get a chance to actually and actively encounter during my own childhood, although I had heard of its existence), and what in my humble opinion makes this timeless classic so very much and inherently, lastingly special is that with the simplicity of the accompanying illustrations, the author/illustrator shows children (no, he actually shows EVERYONE) that imagination and even artistic imagination does NOT need to be realism-based, does not need to be three dimensional, and most certainly does not ever really need to be painterly, as Harold's artistic adventures with his ubiquitous purpose crayon are all depicted as simple line drawings, expressive, evocative, adventurous, but in no way overly involved and with too many minute details (stick figure like renderings that most of us, and even those of us with imagination, and appreciation for art but not really all that much if any talent for drawing, painting and the like could more than likely manage easily enough).

And aside from the sweet, engagingly fun act of reading Harold and the Purple Crayon (either as an independent reader or perusing it with a child or a group of children), of showing, of demonstrating how Harold uses his very active imagination, uses his special purple crayon to create his own imaginative world of whimsy, adventure and even delicious treats, one can of course also make use of the very premise of Crocket Johnson's classic to encourage children (either at home or in the classroom) to create their own drawn purple crayon (or whatever coloured crayon) imaginative adventure storyboards, to read and perhaps even to present, to show and tell. Highly recommended and just so much potential fun (as in my opinion Harold and the Purple Crayon simply begs to be imitated, to be used as a blueprint for playtime and whimsical storytelling, but perhaps it might also and equally be worthwhile if not necessary making sure that especially toddlers do not end up initiating Harold too closely by drawing on walls)! (hide spoiler)]

Viva Frida (liked the artwork, but the text does not really tell me all that much about Frida Kahlo)

(view spoiler)[The expressively emotional three dimensional puppet dioramas of Viva Frida (which appear to have been created by author and illustrator Yuyi Morales and were then photographed by Tim O'Meara) are in all ways a delightful and wonderful visual treat, a glorious celebration of Frida Kahlo's imagination, creativity and her special and unique ways of perceiving, of looking at the world. And yes, if I were to consider the illustrations (the spectacular dioramas) and ONLY them, I can not only both much understand and appreciate the 2015 Caldecott Honour designation for Viva Frida, but also would personally consider the latter pretty much as a five star book.

However, and for me personally, this is a rather massively frustrated however, on a textual, on a narrative level, I am sorry to say that I have found Viva Frida as quite totally lacking in almost every way (too simplistic, too mundane, basically telling me as a reader patently nothing about Frida Kahlo's life and times, really presenting to me only that she was imaginative, creative, but not much else of any significance). And in fact, the only part of Viva Frida that I have found in any manner engaging and informative on a printed word, on a narrational level, is Yuyi Morales' author's note at the back of the book, and that is simply NOT enough for me (and therefore, only a three star ranking for Viva Frida, with five well deserved stars for the truly shiningly wonderful illustrations, but only a meagre and sad one star ranking at best for the rather majorly inadequate dual language Spanish/English text). (hide spoiler)]

Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (wanted to actually see some of Basquiat's actual artwork included, kind of sad that ignoramuses have challenged the book because Basquiat died due to drug use, that engaged in so called street art and so on and so on)

(view spoiler)[In many ways, Javaka Steptoe's Radiant Child is simply and gracefully a beautifully told account, presenting not only how and even why Jean-Michel Basquiat becomes an artist but also that art is for one in the eye of the beholder (and that what some might consider beautiful, others might not, although this could and should have been a bit more specifically and clearly demonstrated and pointed out by the author, as there exists in my opinion some potential areas of and for confusion) and for two that art and artistic expression can often also be a source of healing, of actual therapy (but also, alas, how individuals with an artistic mindset and temperament will unfortunately at times experience life both more intensely and more difficultly, such as Jean-Michel Basquiat's mother, who seemingly ends up institutionalised, breaking her son's heart, as Jean-Michel Basquiat and his mother Matilde are described as having been very close, as kindred spirits of the soul).

Now I have read a number of intensely negative reviews of Radiant Child that seem to take great umbrage at the fact that as a teenager and young adult Jean-Michel Basquiat goes out alone at night and draws, paints his art as graffiti on city walls, buildings, structures. And while I can to a point understand that some if not even many people might well regard graffiti as not really art but as vandalism, in my own humble opinion, art is art. And sometimes, public displays of artistic expression uncommissioned and perhaps even unwanted on buildings, walls and other public structures are actually what it takes, are necessary to make gallery goers, art aficionados, art dealers etc. (and the general public) take notice and become aware of a young or an emerging artist (and some artists do in fact both have the desire and often an intense personal requirement and need to produce, to create art anywhere and everywhere, that they are complelled, that they cannot resist the urge to engage in public displays of their artistic soul and talents).

Furthermore, and as someone who always tends to require both solitude and often silence when I am writing (or engaging in) anything even remotely creative, I do appreciate oh so very much that Javaka Steptoe has shown in his presented narrative of Radiant Child that art is often (and perhaps even mostly) very much a solitary action, that while the end result, the end product of artistic expression might well be public (and will even need to be public if an artist wants to be recognised and have his or her works displayed in art galleries and museums), the actual creation of art is often intensely private and that many, if not actually the majority of artists do indeed much prefer to work alone, without distractions, and often much require this for their creative processes to adequately come to fruition (and that too much social contact even prevents or at least can significantly hinder creativity).

But while I guess part of me does understand why the most troubling aspects of Jean-Michel Basquiat's short life have not been mentioned by Javaka Steptoe within the text of Radiant Child and just relegated to the back and his author's notes, another part of me does wish that even within the narrative itself, Basquiat's struggles with especially substance abuse had at least been alluded to, as for me, and after researching Jean-Michel Basquiat a bit online, it truly and sadly does in fact appear as though he possesed a rather fragile and easily shatterable soul and was probaly using drugs to self medicate when expressing his thoughts, his feelings, his fears and innermost self via his artwork was clearly no longer sufficient (and in my opinion, and although this is all troubling and sadly so, Jean-Michel Basquiat's ultimately unsuccessful struggles against addiction are as much, were as much part of his life as his paintings, his collages, his sculptures, and I strongly feel that this does need to be presented, warts and all, within the text proper of Radiant Child, and quite frankly, having this information only appear in the author's notes leaves me both rather disappointed and even a tiny bit insulted).

Now with regard to the accompanying illustrations that won Javaka Steptoe the 2017 Caldecott Medal, they are glowing, colourful, full of expressive emotion and indeed do a simply wonderful job illustrating, presenting not only Jean-Michel Basquiat as an artist but as a person (his life, his artistic oeuvre, his legacy), how he lived and how he worked, produced, created. However, as much as I have indeed and in fact liked and even loved Javaka Steptoe's pictorial offerings, I do have to admit that I am finding it supremely annoying that there are none of Jean-Michel Basquiat's actual works of art reproduced in Radiant Child (and while this might well be due to legal and copyright reasons, it is still a most lamentable shortcoming and frustration that has also at least somewhat lessened my reading pleasure, as what is a book about the life and times of an artist, without pictures of his or her actual work).

And finally, while I read Radiant Child as a download on my Kindle, I would NOT really tend to all that much recommend this book in an electronic format, as while the illustrations are indeed lovely and expressive even on the Kindle, the text is so small that reading it has proven very annoying and eye-strain producing, even with zooming in, even whilst wearing reading glasses. (hide spoiler)]

Dadaji's Paintbrush (not my favourite but a sweet story of art and also of the driving process)

(view spoiler)[Maybe I am just not in the mood, but honestly, while Rashmi Sirdesphande's text and Ruchi Mhasane's accompanying pictures for their 2022 (and on the long but not on the short list for the 2023 Kate Greenaway Medal) picture book Dadaji's Paintbrush are decently expressive, do a pretty nice job mirroring and playing off each ofter and tell both verbally and illustratively a sweet story with very touching and important messages regarding in particular the different stages of grief (from anger and sadness to finally acceptance, to being able to move on) and how a young boy not only learns how to deal with his grandfather's death but then also manages to continue with his Dadaji's legacy of providing painting, of giving art lessons to the children of his home village in India, well, I am sorry to say that albeit Dadaji's Paintbrush definitely provides a lot of positives, I am left with a feeling of not really having been wowed, of not feeling reading gratification.

For one (and this is if course mostly my own and personal textual feeling), although as mentioned above Rashmi Sirdesphande's printed words for Dadaji's Paintbrush feature some nicely and tenderly penned messages, Sirdesphande's narrative, it is in my humble opinion at the same time also rather overly simplistic and does not contain nearly enough verbal oomph and meat (even for a picture book) to sufficiently textually be all that rewarding and fulfilling (and that not only I as an adult reader but also I as a child reader do definitely totally agree with regard to this, with regard to finding Dadaji's Paintbrush decently readable, but also not ever delving deeply enough to provide writing that is really and truly memorable). For two, and concerning Ruchi Mhasane's accompanying artwork for Dadaji's Paintbrush, yes, her pictures are expressively colourful and present a visually informative portrait of an East Indian village (and also depict how Dadaji and later his grandson provide art instruction for the village children). However, for my aesthetic tastes, Mhasame's pictures are much too blurry, are not visually strong enough, and I also find that with basically ALL of the many human figures being depicted, their facial features appear pretty much the same (with rather rigid smiles and stare) and are as such rather lacking visual emotion.

And indeed, taking into account that Dadaji's Paintbrush is basically a story that is featuring or rather is supposed to be featuring some pretty strong emotions, that Ruchi Mhasane's artwork does not really provide nearly enough feeling and expressivity, for me, this is a rather significant lack (and that Rashmi Sirdeshpande's sweet but over simplified text accompanied by Ruchi Mhasane's colourful but too blurry and a bit flat feeling pictures leave a combination of text and images that is for me at best but three stars as a rating for Dadaji's Paintbrush). (hide spoiler)]

Chasing Degas (illustrations make this book)

(view spoiler)[A fictitious account of a young ballet dancer running through Paris on the trail of Impressionist painter Edgar Degas (because he has accidentally taken the bag with her tutu and she has accidentally taken the bag with his paints), Chasing Degas provides a simple but generally delightful and informative picture book introduction to French Impressionism and to some of the movement's most famous artists.

But albeit that Chasing Degas is simple enough for children as young as four or five, slightly older children will likely appreciate and enjoy not only the story, Eva Montanari's presented narrative, but also the informative supplemental author's notes. And although Chasing Degas also to a certain extent features dancing, particularly ballet, the main themes of this enchanting little story are of course French Impressionism and how the little ballet dancer on her romp through Paris, meets not only Claude Monet, but actually a goodly number of Impressionist artists before finally locating Degas and retrieving her tutu (and of course also returning his paints to him).

Now finally, as for the accompanying illustrations (also by Eva Montanari, who acts as both author and illustrator in Chasing Degas), although I would not necessarily call them personal favourites, they do in fact and indeed sweetly compliment the narrative and actually feel somewhat impressionistic in their composition and execution (which gives readers a palpable feeling of authenticity, of time and place). Highly recommended and fun! (hide spoiler)]

Linnea in Monet's Garden (spectacular and lovely introduction to Claude Monet and also showing a wonderful intergenerational friendship between Linnea and her elderly neighbour)

(view spoiler)[Christina Björk's Linnea in Monet's Garden (which was originally published in Sweden in 1985 under the title of Linnea i Målarens Trädgård, with the English language translation penned in 1987 by Joan Sandin) has been on my to-read list for almost a decade, and I am happy to say that I have now remedied this shortcoming, that I have both read and yes indeed also very much enjoyed Linnea in Monet's Garden (although truth be told, I do very much wish that I were fluent in Swedish and could thus tackle Linnea in Monet's Garden in the original, or better yet, that a dual language English/Swedish edition of Linnea i Målarens Trädgård were available).

And yes, I very much do appreciate the smooth combination (the back and forth) of fiction and non-fiction in Linnea in Monet's Garden (and am actually rather surprised to have discovered quite a bit of hitherto personally unknown to me details and information regarding French Impressionist painter Claude Monet's life as an artist, including that for the 19th century, Monet definitely lived not only rather unconventionally, but also in a relationship with more than one woman simultaneously and in the same house). With Linnea's first person narrative voice shining brightly and sweetly in the fiction sections of Linnea in Monet's Garden, one can really emotionally feel and broadly smile at her effervescent joy of discovery and her constant delight as she and her elderly neighbour Mr. Bloom (who is a retired gardener) visit France to follow and explore both Claude Monet's art and his life. And while I do know and realise that there are in fact sone readers who seem to find it strange and even potentially problematic that a young girl like Linnea is allowed to travel to France without her family and even share a hotel room with an elderly gentleman who is not of her immediate family, frankly and in my opinion, there is absolutely nothing even remotely bordering on inappropriateness with and in Christina Björk's and by extension also translator Joan Landin's texts (since the joyful and engaging first person narration of Linnea in Monet's Garden really does demonstrate that Linnea's relationship with Mr. Bloom is comparable to a grandfather and granddaughter scenario, sweet, encouraging and with Mr. Bloom always acting like a treasured, understanding friend as well as a teacher). Now as to Lena Anderson's accompanying illustrations, they are bright, descriptive and totally capture not only Linnea's joy and and delightfully bubbly personality, they also present a glowing visual homage to France and to Monet's garden in Giverny (as well as depicting Mr. Bloom as being in all ways a kindly and grandfatherly soul whom I personally would definitely have wanted as a friend when I was Linnea's age). With the many reproductions of Claude Monet's signature impressionistic artwork (as well as the additional information on French and in particular Parisian museums either specialising in Claude Monet or showing the art of French Impressionism, not to mention the suggestions for additional fun and educational things to do if one visits Paris) being appreciated added bonuses, I easily and happily grant a full five stars to Linnea in Monet's Garden (and this even though I personally do wish that the short bibliographical list contained more than just five books, since well, at least Christina Björk has actually included a bibliography in Linnea in Monet's Garden and that indeed, all of the included tomes on Claude Monet's life and art do look very thorough and academically appealing to and for me). (hide spoiler)]

The Noisy Paint Box (can also be used to show what synthesia is)

(view spoiler)[Vasily Kandinsky's development as an artist and the struggles of both him (and many of his colleagues) to break free from the standard and "appropriate" (quotes are mine) dictates of what art, of what in particular painting was supposed to be, and this actually being the genesis of Expressionism, Cubism, Surrealism, of basically all abstract art in general, is glowingly and readably presented by author Barb Rosenstock in and with her brilliant and evocative The Noisy Paintbox.

The featured and assumed fact that Vasily Kandinsky (and even though in The Noisy Paintbox, he is called Vasya, I will use Vasily as that is the first name with which I am most familiar) most probably had synthesia, that he not only saw colours as red, blue, yellow etc. but that each colour also had an audible sound for Vasily, that his paintbox basically "sang" and that Kandinsky thus actually was often painting the sounds he heard emanating from said paintbox, the hisses, the whispers, basically the music of art, all this is not only a wondrous and magical reading experience, the author's printed words, in conjunction with Mary Grandpré's expressive and impressive accompanying illustrations not only show Vasily Kandinsky's life and his development as an artist, they also present the very essence of what made the latter such a novel and original painter, namely that Vasily Kandinsky was brave enough to break free, to use his synthesia as a tool, that he started to paint his emotions, the perceived colours he heard as sounds, as music.

And even though Kandinsky's family and even society in general were often both critical of his art, his desires and also at first tried to mould him into being a traditional artist who painted only realistically (imitating the so-called Old Masters), Vasily (after he had abandoned his law career and moved from Moscow to Munich) finally took the necessary step and painted what he desired and yes, even needed to render, to produce on canvas, on paper, sounds, music, feelings, abstractions, colour as an entity in and of itself, colour as a symphony (a necessary step for both himself and Kandsinky's colleagues, his artist friends, who were equally frustrated by the dictates and mandates of needing to paint, to produce art that with realism was supposed to only represent pretty landscapes, still-lives, portraits). And while I do in fact absolutely love love love Vasily Kandsinky's work (his art, his stylistics, his expressively bold paintings), for me, personally (and this also comes shiningly through in Barb Rosenstock's narrative, in the text of The Noisy Paintbox), even more important is the fact that in many ways, Vasily Kandinsky should be feted and celebrated as not only a talented and pretty much amazing artist, but as one of the main movers and shakers who not only created abstract art, but really was the instigator, the "midwife" so to speak of modern art as a genre and the acceptance of abstract art as actual art, as a satisfactory form of the same.

Now as much as I have indeed adored and appreciated the featured narrative of The Noisy Paintbox, for me, what really does make this book stand out and shine is the fact that Barb Rosenstock has not only included an informative and enlightening author's note (with appreciated and detailed source listings and suggestions for further study and research) but that she also has included four examples of Vasily Kandinsky's own work (so much better and also much more of an homage than picture book biographies of artists where, sadly, none of the artist's actual work has been included, which does seem to happen rather too often and frankly, I tend to find this hugely frustrating and annoying).

And finally, with regard to Mary Grandpré's accompanying illustrations, they are really, truly simply totally, absolutely spectacular, expressive, shiningly emotional, with a glorious sense of colour and composition, presenting, showing both Vasily Kandinsky's life story and also his oh so very much distinctive painting (artistic) style. In fact, Mary Grandpré's imaginative renderings of the artist's works could, in my opinion, have been created by Kandinsky himself (and that is at least for me on a personal level, the very highest praise I can give, as Vasily Kandinsky is one of my favourite 20th century artists). And really (although I do appreciate the fact that The Noisy Paintbox won a 2015 Caldecott Honour designation for Mary Grandpré, I am actually more than a bit miffed and disappointed that she did not win the actual Caldecott Medal (as I for one certainly do feel that Mary Grandpré's illustrations for The Noisy Paintbox were and are vastly superior to the illustrations for The Adventures of Beekle which were awarded the 2015 Caldecott Medal). (hide spoiler)]

The People's Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art (artwork is not to my tastes, but since it is meant to mirror Ben Shahn it really works well)

(view spoiler)[Wow, my perusal of The People's Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art certainly and delightfully has shown to me that author Cynthia Levinson has most definitely done some amazing and really thorough both primary and secondary research for her 2021 picture book biography The People's Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art (and which was also awarded the 2022 Sibert Medal for non fiction). And while the featured text for The People's Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art is certainly pretty textually, pretty verbally dense (and thus more suitable to and for older children above the age of eight or so), at the same time, Levinson's writing engagingly and even entertainingly provides a nicely extensive and detailed life story of American figurative artist Ben Shahn (from his childhood in Lithuania to Ben Shahn's final years, and with Levinson also making a point that until the end of his life, Shahn not only kept drawing every day but was also busy advocating for, encouraging and supporting young American artists, giving them the mentorship he himself never received, that Ben Shahn's road to artistic fame was full of obstacles and many trials and that first and foremost, Shahn's art was and is for the people, for the working classes and not to please elitists and art snobs, which The People's Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art very much and in my opinion glowingly and gloriously demonstrates).

But yes, my appreciation and my reading enjoyment of Cynthia Levinson text for The People's Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art is further augmented by the fact that at the front of the book there is a short glossary for the Yiddish words Levinson has used (including a pronunciation guide) and that there are equally an author's note, a detailed time line and a bibliographical section provided (books, websites, interviews, source notes), leaving me as an academic broadly smiling (even though I would personally put the glossary for the Yiddish nouns in the same area as the bibliography, as at first I completely missed that there is indeed a glossary included in The People's Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art and was even erroneously it turns out lamenting its non presence).

Now with regard to Even Turk's accompanying artwork for The People's Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art, while I do appreciate that Turk's pictures are (and as mentioned in the illustrators note) meant to emulate Ben Shahn's drawing and painting style, from an aesthetic point of view I do not actually find these illustrations all that visually pleasant. However, after now having checked out Ben Shahn's art online a bit (since sadly, there are no actual examples included in The People's Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art), yes, Evan Turk's pictures, they are definitely very much similar to Ben Shahn's art and as such they do very nicely and very realistically mirror Cynthia Levinson's printed words, and that this successful and pretty much wonderful combination of text and images most definitely makes me rate The People's Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art with four very much shining and glowing stars. (hide spoiler)]