Focused less on this world than the other but a significant contribution to the history of women artists.
This Swedish import introduces young readers to a long-obscure spiritualist painter who has only recently been recognized as a pioneering abstract artist.
In language that underscores the mystical character of Hilma's art (“According to the positions of the stars and planets on the day that she was born, Hilma’s life would be filled with magic and mystery”), Hillström traces her Swedish subject’s nearly lifelong devotion to spiritualism and theosophy, which led her to create nonrepresentational “maps of the spirit world” in paint well before (the author notes) Wassily Kandinsky proudly proclaimed himself the inventor of abstraction. As she was repeatedly brushed off by leading theosophist Rudolph Steiner and, just before dying in 1944, directed that her work be packed away, not to be looked at until 20 years after her death, she long remained little known. But Eklund’s appropriately pale, ghostly scenes of an otherworldly figure practicing her art or gazing intensely inward are interspersed with 15 reproductions of actual works (several with descriptive commentary), an interpretive chart of select symbols and colors in af Klint’s art, and a tantalizing suggestion that viewers may find meanings of their own in their mysterious shapes and spaces. Human figures have skin the white of the page. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Focused less on this world than the other but a significant contribution to the history of women artists. (Picture-book biography. 8-10)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2023
ISBN: 9780500653173
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
It’s an often-told story, but the author is still in a position to give it a unique perspective.
The author of Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America (2004) tells her father’s tale again, for younger readers.
Though using a less personal tone this time and referring to herself in the third person, Robinson still devotes as much attention to his family life, youth and post-baseball career as she does to his achievements on the field. Writing in short sentences and simple language, she presents a clear picture of the era’s racial attitudes and the pressures he faced both in the military service and in baseball—offering plenty of clear reasons to regard him not just as a champion athlete, but as a hero too. An early remark about how he ran with “a bunch of black, Japanese, and Mexican boys” while growing up in Pasadena is insensitively phrased, and a sweeping claim that by 1949 “[t]he racial tension was broken” in baseball is simplistic. Nevertheless, by and large her account covers the bases adequately. The many photos include an admixture of family snapshots, and a closing Q-and-A allows the author to announce the imminent release of a new feature film about Robinson.
It’s an often-told story, but the author is still in a position to give it a unique perspective. (Biography. 8-10)Pub Date: March 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-54006-3
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
A squeaky-clean biography of the original Mouseketeer.
Scollon begins with the (to say the least) arguable claim that Disney grew up to “define and shape what would come to be known as the American Century.” Following this, he retraces Disney’s life and career, characterizing him as a visionary whose only real setbacks came from excess ambition or at the hands of unscrupulous film distributors. Disney’s brother Roy appears repeatedly to switch between roles as encourager and lead doubter, but except in chapters covering his childhood, the rest of his family only puts in occasional cameos. Unsurprisingly, there is no mention of Disney’s post–World War II redbaiting, and his most controversial film, Song of the South, gets only a single reference (and that with a positive slant). More puzzling is the absence of Mary Poppins from the tally of Disney triumphs. Still, readers will come away with a good general picture of the filmmaking and animation techniques that Disney pioneered, as well as a highlight history of his studio, television work and amusement parks. Discussion questions are appended: “What do you think were Walt Disney’s greatest accomplishments and why?” Brown’s illustrations not seen. An iconic success story that has often been told before but rarely so one-dimensionally or with such firm adherence to the company line. (bibliography) (Biography. 8-10)
Pub Date: July 15, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-9647-1
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Disney Press
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2014
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