A tribute to a giant of children’s literature and an artist’s need to put color on the page.
Mackenzie presents a picture book biography of children’s author Barbara Cooney.
“When she was a wisp of a girl, Barbara Cooney spent her summers in Maine,” the opening text reads, accompanied by an image of a blond, stick-legged Cooney looking out at a bright blue bay under a clear sky. This prefaces the evolution of her wild settings and love of travel, but there seems to be little to say about young, middle-class New Yorker Barbara, other than to note her desire to paint well, “like Mama”: “She went to school and came home and did her homework. Pretty soon she was all grown up.” Immediately after schooling, Cooney starts work as a children’s picture book illustrator, frustrated by publishers’ reluctance to print in expensive color. Her Massachusetts environs, including a barn door and chickens, inspires her first color book, Chanticleer and the Fox, which allows her to advance her artistic career and gives her license to work with a wider palette. Ewen’s illustrations echo Cooney’s, with lupins, natural landscapes, and penciled shading, though the colors are brighter, the botanical details less specific, and the domestic, cozy Americana depicted less mysterious than the evocative pictures or complicated worlds of Cooney’s own classics.
A tribute to a giant of children’s literature and an artist’s need to put color on the page.Pub Date: June 17, 2024
ISBN: 9781956393040
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A brief but sweet snapshot of an inspiring girl who finds hope in song.
Through the power of music, Lucimarian Tolliver is reminded of what’s important.
Lucy is one of the only children of African descent on her block—called Lucy Street—in 1930s Akron, Ohio, but all her neighbors share one commonality: poverty. Lucy’s carefree spirit is dampened when her family’s furniture is repossessed one day. She visits her grandfather, who comforts her by singing the folk standard “This Little Light of Mine.” Grandpa tells Lucy that she’s destined for greatness and that she should never stop singing, even through life’s toughest moments. Back at home, Lucy’s father scolds her for singing at the dinner table, so she quickly finishes eating and wanders outside and sings into the night. Her voice reaches her family and neighbors, who are all touched by her song. Digital illustrations evoke the time period in muted tones, featuring endearing characters with simple yet expressive features. The visual subject matter is repetitive from page to page, as are the incorporated lyrics of “This Little Light of Mine.” Based on Lucimarian Tolliver’s experiences growing up during the Depression, the text contains an epilogue but lacks backmatter detailing historical context or more information about Lucy’s life. Though the themes of optimism and the importance of family, faith, and music shine through the text, readers may be left with more questions than answers.
A brief but sweet snapshot of an inspiring girl who finds hope in song. (Picture-book biography. 5-7)Pub Date: May 20, 2025
ISBN: 9780063222540
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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
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