FLYING PAINTINGS

A picture-book biography chronicling the artistic and personal journey of the Zhou brothers.

First came Shaoli, and then Shaoning arrived soon after. Together, the Zhou brothers loved to run in the garden and to sit close. And together, the brothers discovered art, “copy[ing] bamboo and plum blossoms with brushes and ink.” Growing up in their family-run bookstore, they listened to grandmother Po Po’s “stories of paintings that once flew through the air”; she encouraged them to “possess the highest of spirits” in the pursuit of becoming artists. But not everyone encouraged art-making—or owning bookstores. Through the years, they’d learn that the terrible and the beautiful could go hand in hand. Circumstance would separate the brothers, but always they would find a way to reunite. Eventually, an artistic collaboration sparked, and together they’d paint—and fight—on canvas to create “paintings that would fly free” as they always dreamed. Recurring narrative elements and refrains alongside Alznauer’s rhythmic prose evoke the kinds of tales Po Po would share with the brothers. Through the vibrant ink-and-watercolor paintings by the subjects themselves, readers are immersed in the bold artistic style and spirit of the Zhou brothers. Alznauer’s author’s note further discusses the Zhou brothers’ career as well as elisions and compression made for the sake of narrative clarity.

This engaging biography will comfort and inspire.