GEORGIA’S BONES

This uninspired biography of Georgia O’Keeffe traces the evolution of part of her oeuvre. “As a child, shapes often drifted in and out of Georgia’s mind,” it begins. As she grows, Georgia observes woods, seashore, city, and desert for shapes to paint, and she gathers shells and bones for still-lifes. Inexplicably, Bryant never mentions her famous flower paintings, though she does appropriately emphasize her well-known paintings of bones found in the desert. Andersen uses gouache, colored pencil, and pastel to create stiff figures and cryptic backgrounds; many visual details need explaining. This art, unlike Georgia’s, is lifeless and less interesting. Text about Georgia’s thoughts and words are unattributed and fictionalized, as if from an earlier era of children’s biography. Conspicuously missing are sources or an author’s note. Not a good introduction or homage to O’Keeffe. (Picture book/nonfiction. 4-8)