A handsome, appealing, informative look at an artist who continues to fascinate.
This import is a refreshing graphic-novel–inflected collaboration by two living artists about a third.
Ascari (aka Elfo) has enjoyed a long career as a cartoonist and illustrator in his native Italy. Writer and illustrator Valentinis has won the prestigious Italian Hans Christian Andersen illustration award. Their focus? The ever accessible French impressionist Claude Monet and his amazing, carefully planned, created garden in Giverny. This garden is at once the culmination of his life’s work, his preferred canvas, and an enduring inspiration. The spare text is well-paced with carefully selected details. Illustrations feature strong, black graphic lines and wonderful flat expanses of color that echo the Japanese prints that inspired the impressionists. The real star here is the garden. Ascari and Valentinis help readers see Monet’s vision and watch the garden develop and grow. They meet Monet’s dedicated team of gardeners and see how they went off to fight in World War I (clad in distinctive red Zouave pantaloons). The book’s design uses the interior front and back cover boards to amplify the text with information on the belle époque and Giverny’s seasonal flowers and shrubs. A few seemingly dropped-in pages include brief biographies of major impressionists, gardening tools, and a précis of Monet’s life.
A handsome, appealing, informative look at an artist who continues to fascinate. (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-910350-19-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Royal Academy of Arts
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2015
A longer—but less interesting—text than the author's Never Kiss an Alligator (1989) and Elephants on the Beach (1990). Introducing both tree and and ground squirrels, with information on how they eat, live, and protect themselves plus some appealing bits on baby squirrels, the pedestrian text begins, ``Squirrels are furry, bright, lively little animals that are very busy,'' and concludes, ``Good night, busy squirrels, good night.'' The many appealing, colorful close-up photos are the best feature here. Index. (Nonfiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-525-65063-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1991
Turner continues her well-regarded series of ``Portraits of Women Artists'' with an introduction to the Caldecott Honor medalist Ringgold, whose picture-book illustrations are a direct extension of her paintings, fabric constructions, and (especially) the vibrant story quilts that powerfully re-create her African-American heritage. In outlining Ringgold's life, the author includes childhood details and b&w photos that will interest young readers, but—perhaps respecting the artist's privacy—doesn't convey her dynamic individuality; but in some detail, Turner explore's Ringgold's ideas, as expressed in her art, including several high-quality color reproductions (fully attributed) plus schematic drawings that identify the figures represented. (Biography. 6-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-316-85652-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1993
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