DELICIOUS

Rubin introduces the contemporary artist—now in his 80s—in an engaging biography for middle-grade readers. While she writes about Thiebaud’s life—growing up in California and Utah, cartooning, serving in World War II and teaching—she seamlessly integrates into the narrative how Thiebaud saw, how he looked at things like hamburgers, cakes, eyeglasses and shoes. He painted them in thick, luscious colors, exploring their geometry, their shadows and the way they occupy space. The design of the volume is brilliant, allowing for a full-page illustration on nearly every spread; laying white type over colored pages in the candy hues Thiebaud favors; and lacing it with quotes from the artist himself. A lively biography that also models quite lucidly how an artist thinks about art, and how he or she might go about making it. Delicious indeed. (bibliography, index) (Biography. 9-14)