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WHERE'S YOUR CREATIVITY?

Name: WHERE'S YOUR CREATIVITY?
Author: Aaron Rosenberg
ISBN: 978-1-84976-509-1

by Aaron Rosenberg & Riley Watts ; illustrated by Marika Maijala ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 10, 2018

Exuberant text and art; hard-to-assign age recommendation—best for art classrooms.

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Readers are directly addressed about the nature of creativity and are given suggestions to expand their own.

Every page is full of bright, playful, yet sophisticated art, reminiscent of Henri Matisse’s collages. Appropriately, the images—whether a grassy field or a pair of legs or a close-up of an astronaut’s face—often spill off the page. The words seek to inspire as they discuss, in bold, black print, the fact that creativity is all around (“the tingle in your toes”), how new ideas may “change your day” or “change the world,” and some of the many forms creativity takes. In order to foster their own creativity, readers are encouraged to, among other things, stretch their bodies, make up a song in the shower, and choose clothing to match their moods. The sometimes-preachy text then touches on different professions and the creativity inherent in them, introducing plenty of new vocabulary words. Some of the suggestions, such as “Wriggle like a snake,” are excellent ways for little ones to immediately interact with the book. However, much of the text is oriented toward older readers in its assumptions of life experience and skills—and even in its encouragement of imaginative play. In general, who is more likely to pretend: a preschooler or a middle schooler?

Exuberant text and art; hard-to-assign age recommendation—best for art classrooms. (Informational picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: April 10, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-84976-509-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Abrams

Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
FLOOD
by Aaron Rosenberg ; illustrated by Aaron Rosenberg

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SPEED BONNIE BOAT

A TALE FROM SCOTTISH HISTORY INSPIRED BY THE SKYE BOAT SONG

From the Picture Kelpies: Traditional Scottish Tales series

illustrated by Alfredo Belli ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 15, 2017

A rendition more poignant than patriotic with, at least in the rhymed portions, the cadence of a lullaby.

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An illustrated version of the ever popular Scottish “Skye Boat Song,” with added lyrics and historical background.

Written in the 19th century (and set to a folk melody), the verses commemorate the flight of Bonnie Prince Charlie, then in his mid-20s, from the 1746 battle of Culloden. They begin after a prose introduction that sets the scene and follows the fugitive until—disguised (according to legend) as resourceful cottager Flora MacDonald’s maidservant—he escapes in a boat to the Isle of Skye. Along with a closing note, the anonymous modern co-author also adds a near ambush by British troops to the storyline in the lyrics and tones down the martial closing lines to a milder “Rightfully king! True hearts will stay / Faithful for evermore!” There is no visible blood or explicit violence in Belli’s depictions of the battle and its aftermath, but in the clean-lined watercolor scenes he fashions evocatively rough seas and stormy skies until landfall brings a final calm. The British soldiers’ red coats and the bright tartans in which the handsome, downcast prince and other male Scots in the all-white cast are outfitted shine against the muted backgrounds.

A rendition more poignant than patriotic with, at least in the rhymed portions, the cadence of a lullaby. (map) (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: July 15, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-78250-367-5

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Floris

Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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MASTERPIECE MIX

by Roxie Munro ; illustrated by Roxie Munro ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 15, 2017

A handsome and satisfying companion to Market Maze (2015).

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Looking for a fresh and inviting introduction to academic painting genres such as still life, portrait, or landscape? Why not bring readers inside an artist’s studio (perhaps author/illustrator Munro’s own?) and actually show them the process?

Munro begins with preparations to paint: stretching and gessoing canvas, selecting the right tubes of colors, choosing brushes, palette knives, and solvents, setting up a palette for painting, and so on. It’s lots of work…but the really hard part about painting is deciding just what to paint. In demonstrating her decision-making process, Munro uses 37 iconic and inspiring examples of fine art, each illustrating a genre for consideration, all drawn from the open-access collection of the National Gallery of Art and all representing an energizing variety of European and American artists, eras, media, and styles. She cleverly brings all these images together in a detailed, ambitious, culminating ink-and-acrylic cityscape. This signature image of an art-bedecked, lively metropolis also works as an art scavenger hunt. As readers discover the art embedded in a landscape, they can refer to the smart, concise, marvelously amplifying backmatter.

A handsome and satisfying companion to Market Maze (2015). (Informational picture book. 4-8)