Thoughtful design and substantive content speak volumes about how to appreciate modern art—and its creators.
A glimpse into the passion to create as manifested in the marriage of two 20th-century dynamos.
The protagonists, both White, are introduced as young adults, their likenesses framed on the wall. Christo is “a poor refugee…whose father once ran a fabric factory,” while Jeanne-Claude is “the rich stepdaughter of a French general.” They meet when Christo arrives at Jeanne-Claude’s parents’ home to paint their portraits. Witty repartee turns into genuine interest; she comprehends the meaning of the wrapped objects in his apartment: “It’s revealing—while concealing.” Thus begins a love affair with each other and with implementing large-scale projects to help people see. Many installations are depicted, but Neri focuses more on the reasons for temporarily wrapping buildings, coastlines, islands—art as an experience to live on in memory, as a “scream of freedom,” or, as a young visitor to the fabric-ensconced L’Arc de Triomphe (2021) declares, “Because when you wrap something, it’s a gift.” An author’s note explains the combination of actual and invented dialogue. The palette is fairly muted, with the figures often portrayed in silhouettes or viewed from the back—a choice pairing well with the topic of coverings. This title complements Elisa Boxer’s Covered in Color (2022), illustrated by Susanna Chapman, which provides more background about Christo as well as photographs. Background characters are diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Thoughtful design and substantive content speak volumes about how to appreciate modern art—and its creators. (fun facts, bibliography) (Picture-book biography. 5-8)Pub Date: April 18, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1661-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
A sweet and endearing feathered migration.
A relationship between a Latina grandmother and her mixed-race granddaughter serves as the frame to depict the ruby-throated hummingbird migration pattern.
In Granny’s lap, a girl is encouraged to “keep still” as the intergenerational pair awaits the ruby-throated hummingbirds with bowls of water in their hands. But like the granddaughter, the tz’unun—“the word for hummingbird in several [Latin American] languages”—must soon fly north. Over the next several double-page spreads, readers follow the ruby-throated hummingbird’s migration pattern from Central America and Mexico through the United States all the way to Canada. Davies metaphorically reunites the granddaughter and grandmother when “a visitor from Granny’s garden” crosses paths with the girl in New York City. Ray provides delicately hashed lines in the illustrations that bring the hummingbirds’ erratic flight pattern to life as they travel north. The watercolor palette is injected with vibrancy by the addition of gold ink, mirroring the hummingbirds’ flashing feathers in the slants of light. The story is supplemented by notes on different pages with facts about the birds such as their nest size, diet, and flight schedule. In addition, a note about ruby-throated hummingbirds supplies readers with detailed information on how ornithologists study and keep track of these birds.
A sweet and endearing feathered migration. (bibliography, index) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0538-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era.
The New Orleans school child who famously broke the color line in 1960 while surrounded by federal marshals describes the early days of her experience from a 6-year-old’s perspective.
Bridges told her tale to younger children in 2009’s Ruby Bridges Goes to School, but here the sensibility is more personal, and the sometimes-shocking historical photos have been replaced by uplifting painted scenes. “I didn’t find out what being ‘the first’ really meant until the day I arrived at this new school,” she writes. Unfrightened by the crowd of “screaming white people” that greets her at the school’s door (she thinks it’s like Mardi Gras) but surprised to find herself the only child in her classroom, and even the entire building, she gradually realizes the significance of her act as (in Smith’s illustration) she compares a small personal photo to the all-White class photos posted on a bulletin board and sees the difference. As she reflects on her new understanding, symbolic scenes first depict other dark-skinned children marching into classes in her wake to friendly greetings from lighter-skinned classmates (“School is just school,” she sensibly concludes, “and kids are just kids”) and finally an image of the bright-eyed icon posed next to a soaring bridge of reconciliation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era. (author and illustrator notes, glossary) (Autobiographical picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-75388-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
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