 Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
Story and pictures by Javaka Steptoe Follow Basquiat, the Brooklyn child of a Puerto Rican mother and a Haitian father, as he draws compulsively and dreams of becoming a famous artist. His mother draws with him and takes him to museums; his father introduces him to jazz. When he’s seven, Jean-Michel is hit by a car and suffers a long, painful recovery, but keeps on drawing and painting--finding art everywhere. He’s broken-hearted when his beloved mother must leave the family because of mental illness. A teen-ager now, Jean-Michel moves to Manhattan, creating collages and paintings: weird, messy, but beautiful. His art is personal, political, and public. He’s noticed! A comet blazing across the art world, Basquiat becomes famous, then dies at twenty-seven. In this Caldecott-winning book, Steptoe has evoked--not imitated--Basquiat’s radiant art, using paint and collage on scrap-wood found in downtown haunts. Kids (and adults) may not know Basquiat’s extraordinary work. If not, it’s time to look him up! 2016, Ages 6 to 10 Check it out from your library using the library catalog. Donate to an improved Sebastopol Regional Library here. Recommended by: Barbara Talcroft Barbara Talcroft reviews children’s books professionally for childrenslit.com and for Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database. She has a Master’s degree in International Children’s Literature. She also has many years’ experience as a teacher. Barbara is one of the founders of LANTERN and its past chairperson.
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 Antsy Ansel: Ansel Adams, A Life in Nature
Cindy Jenson-Elliott Illustrations by Christy Hale It’s art month--let’s meet some artists. Young Ansel Adams just can’t sit still at home or at school; he loves exploring the outdoors near his home on California’s Golden Gate Beach. Luckily, Ansel’s father understands, has him tutored--and gives him a camera. Share the boyhood experiences that will influence Adams’s future--a season ticket to the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition introduces him to contemporary art and spectacle; trips to Yosemite make him aware of sunrise, grandeur, and moonlit night. He snaps everything in black and white! Track the adult Adams on his commission by the government to photograph the natural wonders of America--caverns, rivers, mountains, and monuments. Playful, poetic text adds humor and drama to Hale’s expansive collages celebrating Adams’s fascination with nature in a palette of browns, greens, and blues. Revel in his stunning black-and-white photographs: images of shimmering clouds, towering rocks, and light, Light, LIGHT. Truly, Adams is the Turner of photography! 2016, Ages 5 to 9 Check it out from your library using the library catalog. Donate to an improved Sebastopol Regional Library here. Recommended by: Barbara Talcroft Barbara Talcroft reviews children’s books professionally for childrenslit.com and for Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database. She has a Master’s degree in International Children’s Literature. She also has many years’ experience as a teacher. Barbara is one of the founders of LANTERN and its past chairperson. |
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