An earnest but uneven account of an artist whose talent blossomed like his beloved sunflowers.
Weary of city life, Vincent van Gogh retreats to the country to paint vibrant images of nature while waiting for fellow artist Paul Gauguin to join him.
“Refined” Paris regards Van Gogh’s cherished sunflower paintings as “inelegant.” After meeting Gauguin, an artist who’s equally committed to vivid hues and floral motifs, Van Gogh departs for the famed “yellow house,” where he’s inspired to paint “brighter and more colorful” art. He waits for Gauguin’s eventual arrival; the book culminates in a lush image of the two friends trekking through a golden Van Gogh–esque wheat field. The narrative contains enough information, explanation, and artistic examples to serve as a satisfying introduction to the painter for younger readers, but, as Marwan makes clear in an affectionate author’s note, the heart of the book is Van Gogh’s waiting and preparing for Gauguin’s arrival. Readers may not be as invested. The relationship between the artists feels underdeveloped, which weakens the anticipation, and the many pages devoted to waiting drag. Within the short, sincere narrative, poignant paragraphs describe colorful canvases. Yet some generic lines of text feel like filler. Marwan’s illustrations, rendered in watercolor, ink, pen, and pencil, are also unbalanced. An image of the two artists ensconced in a color wheel is brilliantly designed, as are bold, sumptuous sunflower homages. Other spreads feel curiously washed out and insubstantial.
An earnest but uneven account of an artist whose talent blossomed like his beloved sunflowers. (Informational picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2024
ISBN: 9781250859631
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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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