A rosy view of an iconic artist.
Flowery language traces the broad roots of Frida Kahlo’s life.
The renowned Mexican artist’s life is retold from nascent bud to full bloom, with particular attention to her self-mythologized harmonious bond with nature and struggles against lifelong illnesses. Vibrant imagery marks her beginning: “Like a seed, / Frida sprouted / and burst through the earth / where / the coyotl once foraged.” Kahlo’s beatific childhood and her young adulthood in Coyoacán together shape the bulk of this biographic narrative, which briefly touches on her bout with polio. A burgeoning interest in flowers and plants blossoms as she visits a nearby park, as does Kahlo’s eventual devotion to painting as she remains in bed recovering from a near-fatal streetcar accident. “Frida flourished / through painting and reconnecting / with nature, / with her ancestral soil.” Referencing a litany of flora, Armendia-Sánchez moves on to the painter’s garden, a site of inspiration and communion. At times, the emphasis on the featured plants and flowers threatens to overwhelm the otherwise delicate, opulent text. Still, Kahlo’s remarkable artistic and personal triumphs keep it all intact. Lora’s gouache artwork, a kaleidoscopic series of vignettes, emerges as an inspired highlight from page to page, bookended by fun, illustrated guides to all the flowers and plants included.
A rosy view of an iconic artist. (author’s note, instructions for making a flower crown, sources) (Picture-book biography. 4-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781949480351
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
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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