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DIEGO RIVERA

AN ARTIST FOR THE PEOPLE

A carefully researched, cogently argued and handsomely produced appreciation.

A perceptive if patchy tribute to Mexico’s premier muralist and (arguably) second-most-renowned visual artist.

Along with biographical details (frank enough to acknowledge repeatedly that he always “liked the ladies, and the ladies had always liked him”), Rubin highlights aspects of Rivera’s art that sets it apart from Frida Kahlo’s: the focus on public settings, on depicting working classes and campesinos, on representing historical and industrial themes. The rich array of illustrations include bright images of full murals and details, sample preliminary drawings, big photos of Rivera at work (and posing with Kahlo) and even works by other artists, from Giotto to José Guadalupe Posada, that strongly affected his artistic development. Though the appended disquisitions on Mexico’s history and on Rivera’s artistic influences seem tacked on and in large part go over material the author has already presented, overall this offers readers who only know Rivera from picture-book biographies a more nuanced view of his controversial life and distinctive art.

A carefully researched, cogently argued and handsomely produced appreciation. (reading list, endnotes) (Biography. 10-13)

Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2013

ISBN: 978-0-8109-8411-0

Page Count: 56

Publisher: Abrams

Review Posted Online: Dec. 25, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2013

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50 IMPRESSIVE KIDS AND THEIR AMAZING (AND TRUE!) STORIES

From the They Did What? series

A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats.

Why should grown-ups get all the historical, scientific, athletic, cinematic, and artistic glory?

Choosing exemplars from both past and present, Mitchell includes but goes well beyond Alexander the Great, Anne Frank, and like usual suspects to introduce a host of lesser-known luminaries. These include Shapur II, who was formally crowned king of Persia before he was born, Indian dancer/professional architect Sheila Sri Prakash, transgender spokesperson Jazz Jennings, inventor Param Jaggi, and an international host of other teen or preteen activists and prodigies. The individual portraits range from one paragraph to several pages in length, and they are interspersed with group tributes to, for instance, the Nazi-resisting “Swingkinder,” the striking New York City newsboys, and the marchers of the Birmingham Children’s Crusade. Mitchell even offers would-be villains a role model in Elagabalus, “boy emperor of Rome,” though she notes that he, at least, came to an awful end: “Then, then! They dumped his remains in the Tiber River, to be nommed by fish for all eternity.” The entries are arranged in no evident order, and though the backmatter includes multiple booklists, a personality quiz, a glossary, and even a quick Braille primer (with Braille jokes to decode), there is no index. Still, for readers whose fires need lighting, there’s motivational kindling on nearly every page.

A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats. (finished illustrations not seen) (Collective biography. 10-13)

Pub Date: May 10, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-14-751813-2

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Puffin

Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015

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TECUMSEH

SHOOTING STAR OF THE SHAWNEE

From the Sterling Biographies series

More a historical narrative than a character portrait, this account of Tecumseh’s efforts to create a tribal confederacy in the Old Northwest focuses on the great Shawnee leader’s many battles and negotiations with then–Territorial Governor William Henry Harrison and then his disastrous—ultimately fatal—alliance with the British during the War of 1812. Replete with side essays on such varied subtopics as the Northwest Territory, the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-12 and the Battle of Lake Erie, it also boasts often–full-color illustrations from archival sources (many of these later paintings and old prints that are inaccurate, as the discursive captions often rightly note, and sometimes too small to make out anyway). In all, this will provide students a coherent view of events if not a clear understanding of Shawnee culture or Tecumseh’s heroic personal qualities. If it's not the 100-page holy grail of middle-grade biographies, it is still pretty close. (glossary, bibliography, source notes, index) (Biography. 11-13)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010

ISBN: 978-1-4027-6847-7

Page Count: 124

Publisher: Sterling

Review Posted Online: Dec. 29, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2010

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