I have a confession: I often prefer picture-book biographies to those aimed at grown-ups. Reading adult biographies, I sometimes struggle to keep track of names and dates, and I find myself losing track of what matters most: Who was this person? What did it feel like to know them, to be them? In a picture book, however, that comes through loud and clear, in large part due to the illustrations—these images are indeed worth thousands of words. That’s particularly true for books about artists, where visuals are so crucial. I’ve come across several recent young readers’ artist biographies that especially stand out. Of course, kids are the primary audience for these texts, and these books will speak to them. They make seemingly distant subjects feel deeply relatable and will encourage children to follow their own artistic passions.

Readers of Gary Golio’s Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem: The Vision of Photographer Roy DeCarava (Calkins Creek/Astra Books for Young Readers, Jan. 16) might be surprised to see E.B. Lewis’ watercolor illustrations—a stark, realistic style would seem more apt for the biography of a photographer. But Lewis’ impressionistic images, paired with Golio’s elegant use of figurative language, are the ideal way to convey the book’s potent message: “Life is how you look at it.” Children will come away moved by DeCarava’s ability to find meaning in the quotidian as he walked the streets of Harlem; those eager to see the photographer’s work should follow the leads in the backmatter.

Lisa Robinson’s Gifts From Georgia’s Garden: How Georgia O’Keeffe Nourished Her Art (Neal Porter/Holiday House, March 19), illustrated by Hadley Hooper, follows the artist as she leaves New York City for New Mexico, where she not only paints but also gardens and prepares lavish meals for her friends. This sumptuous work will push readers toward profound realizations: Something as simple as planting a seed can be an artistic endeavor, and artists have rich lives that extend far beyond the canvas.

With Mr. Pei’s Perfect Shapes: The Story of Architect I.M. Pei (Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins, May 28), author Julie Leung and illustrator Yifan Wu offer insights into the man responsible for designing everything from the Louvre Pyramid to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Readers who see architecture as pure science, not art, will rethink that assumption; Pei’s reverence for nature is on full display in this gracefully illustrated tale, as is his longing to make a mark on the world.

Many young museumgoers believe there’s a great chasm separating them from the artists whose work they’re observing. But, as Yevgenia Nayberg makes clear in A Party for Florine: Florine Stettheimer and Me (Neal Porter/Holiday House, July 16), nothing could be further from the truth. Intrigued by a self-portrait of Stettheimer, a young girl begins drawing parallels between herself and the painter, such as their Judaism and their love of art. The youngster also starts seeing the world as her hero did: “full of color and full of sunrise.” Nayberg’s whimsical prose and brilliantly surreal artwork create a fantastical setting sure to set readers’ own imaginations whirling.

Mahnaz Dar is a young readers’ editor.