An uplifting look at the influences and inspirations that fueled an artist, and the legacy he left behind.
Waldrop offers an illustrated story for children about the life of Harlem Renaissance artist Ellis Wilson (1899-1977).
As the story opens, Wilson is a young boy growing up in rural Kentucky who has dreams of being a painter (“At a time when most folks saw the world as black or white, young Ellis Wilson watched colors dance across canvas”). Inspired by his father’s painting hobby, Ellis decides he wants to become an artist. He sketches constantly, whether it’s at the barbershop where his dad works or while listening to his mother sing with the local church. Despite being told by everyone around him that there’s no way to make a living by painting, Ellis continues to practice. When it comes time to apply to art schools, the young man faces rejection after rejection, due to his skin color, but finally catches a break when a Chicago art school (revealed to be the Art Institute of Chicago in an author’s note) accepts him. After learning everything he can in that city, Ellis eventually makes a home in Manhattan’s Harlem neighborhood, where he works odd jobs to make ends meet while painting the everyday scenes he sees. Ellis’ work begins to catch the attention of the art community, where he gains recognition and acclaim. His skilled portrayals of working people strike chords with many people to this day. Waldrop’s biographical work might have been strengthened by the inclusion of specific facts in the main text, instead of at the very end—such as when, exactly, Wilson was born. However, this engaging true story is still likely to appeal to creative children. Artist and Tennessee State University professor McBride’s painterly, color illustrations use bold, broad strokes that will help readers to visually experience the power of Ellis’ life and work. The book’s backmatter includes more detailed biographical and professional information about Wilson, as well as author and illustrator bios.
An uplifting look at the influences and inspirations that fueled an artist, and the legacy he left behind.Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2022
ISBN: 9781945049347
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Shadelandhouse Modern Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An authentic and moving time capsule of middle school angst, trauma, and joy.
Through the author’s own childhood diary entries, a seventh grader details her inner life before and after 9/11.
Alyssa’s diary entries start in September 2000, in the first week of her seventh grade year. She’s 11 and dealing with typical preteen concerns—popularity and anxiety about grades—along with other things more particular to her own life. She’s shuffling between Queens and Manhattan to share time between her divorced parents and struggling with thick facial hair and classmates who make her feel like she’s “not a whole person” due to her mixed White and Puerto Rican heritage. Alyssa is endlessly earnest and awkward as she works up the courage to talk to her crush, Alejandro; gushes about her dreams of becoming a shoe designer; and tries to solve her burgeoning unibrow problem. The diaries also have a darker side, as a sense of impending doom builds as the entries approach 9/11, especially because Alyssa’s father works in finance in the World Trade Center. As a number of the diary entries are taken directly from the author’s originals, they effortlessly capture the loud, confusing feelings middle school brings out. The artwork, in its muted but effective periwinkle tones, lends a satisfying layer to the diary’s accessible and delightful format.
An authentic and moving time capsule of middle school angst, trauma, and joy. (author's note) (Graphic memoir. 8-13)Pub Date: Aug. 17, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-77427-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
For every dreaming girl (and boy) with a pencil in hand (or keyboard) and a story to share.
A multiaward–winning author recalls her childhood and the joy of becoming a writer.
Writing in free verse, Woodson starts with her 1963 birth in Ohio during the civil rights movement, when America is “a country caught / / between Black and White.” But while evoking names such as Malcolm, Martin, James, Rosa and Ruby, her story is also one of family: her father’s people in Ohio and her mother’s people in South Carolina. Moving south to live with her maternal grandmother, she is in a world of sweet peas and collards, getting her hair straightened and avoiding segregated stores with her grandmother. As the writer inside slowly grows, she listens to family stories and fills her days and evenings as a Jehovah’s Witness, activities that continue after a move to Brooklyn to reunite with her mother. The gift of a composition notebook, the experience of reading John Steptoe’s Stevieand Langston Hughes’ poetry, and seeing letters turn into words and words into thoughts all reinforce her conviction that “[W]ords are my brilliance.” Woodson cherishes her memories and shares them with a graceful lyricism; her lovingly wrought vignettes of country and city streets will linger long after the page is turned.
For every dreaming girl (and boy) with a pencil in hand (or keyboard) and a story to share. (Memoir/poetry. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-25251-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
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