Not quite “violet” enough.
The life of fashion editor Diana Vreeland is explored in an imagined first-person voice.
This story of Vreeland’s rise to fame in the fashion industry begins with an anecdote from when she was 13. Her mother objects to her use of red fingernail polish, applied in an attempt to look like “an exotic princess.” (What precisely she meant by exotic is not explained.) Vreeland loves dressing up and dancing, and “things [a]ren’t always rosy” with her mother, a fact that’s fleshed out a bit more in the book’s backmatter. In an abrupt turn, readers learn that Vreeland becomes an “Empress of Fashion.” The narration continues, relating her preferences for eccentricity, “radiant colors” and their tones, and the color red; followed by her job at Harper’s Bazaar magazine; her Harper’s “Why Don’t You?” column; and her work at Vogue and the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. The text captures Vreeland’s unique vision, though it’s not clear if the text includes invented dialogue or exact quotes or a combination. Every image of Vreeland in these pages depicts her with the same stylized grin, and the palette lacks spark for such a fashion iconoclast: A spread, for instance, devoted to Vreeland’s love of the “right green—a spring green” is dominated by a dull olive-green shade. Backmatter includes resources for further reading. Katstaller includes women of color as models and other background characters in this story of the White fashion icon.
Not quite “violet” enough. (Informational picture book. 4-10)Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64896-063-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A supplemental rather than introductory book on the great artist.
Frida Kahlo’s strong affection for and identification with animals form the lens through which readers view her life and work in this picture-book biography.
Each two-page spread introduces one or more of her pets, comparing her characteristics to theirs and adding biographical details. Confusingly for young readers, the beginning pages reference pets she owned as an adult, yet the illustrations and events referred to come from earlier in her life. Bonito the parrot perches in a tree overlooking young Frida and her family in her childhood home and pops up again later, just before the first mention of Diego Rivera. Granizo, the fawn, another pet from her adult years, is pictured beside a young Frida and her father along with a description of “her life as a little girl.” The author’s note adds important details about Kahlo’s life and her significance as an artist, as well as recommending specific paintings that feature her beloved animals. Expressive acrylic paintings expertly evoke Kahlo’s style and color palette. While young animal lovers will identify with her attachment to her pets and may enjoy learning about the Aztec origins of her Xolo dogs and the meaning of turkeys in ancient Mexico, the book may be of most interest to those who already have an interest in Kahlo’s life.
A supplemental rather than introductory book on the great artist. (Picture book/biography. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4269-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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