A cheerful introduction not only to Wu Daozi, but to the power of inspiration.
The life of the classical Chinese painter Wu Daozi is imagined as a magical artistic adventure.
Look’s text is brief and impressionistic, conveying with quick brushstrokes the mythical genius of the artist and his own wonder at the miraculous work of his brush. She begins with Wu Daozi as a boy studying calligraphy but discovering that his brush has other plans: “Each day something new and surprising dripped out of Daozi’s brush,” as lively lines turn into trees, a fish, a horse. So’s friendly ink-and-watercolor paintings are a mix of graceful lines and careful detail, conveying a world in motion. The black and white of Wu Daozi’s classical-style paintings as she depicts them come alive in bright colors: A butterfly, a camel, a flying dragon fill with color and flap or step off the wall as Wu Daozi finishes painting them. A seated Buddha smiles in glorious colors as Daozi adds a last touch of his brush. Brush strokes emphasize and echo the liveliness of Wu Daozi’s work in the flying sleeves of his robe and a swirling shock of his black hair. An author’s note gives Wu Daozi’s dates and explains his importance to Chinese art, including the fact that none of his 300 frescoes have survived; a note about the legend that Wu Daozi possibly cheated death by painting himself into paradise follows the last enchanting illustration.
A cheerful introduction not only to Wu Daozi, but to the power of inspiration. (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: June 25, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-87001-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: April 2, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2013
A stunning, honest, yet age-appropriate depiction of historical injustice.
Giddens’ song commemorating the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth is adapted into a picture book centering history and resilience.
Written in second person, the story begins “You brought me here / to build your house” and depicts a Black family joining enslaved Black laborers in a field, transported and supervised by a White person. The family helps the others lay bricks and pick cotton until they are sent away, with the White person gesturing for them to leave (“you told me… // GO”). Against a backdrop of green fields and blue mountains, the family finds “a place / To build my house,” enjoying freedom, until “you said I couldn’t / Build a house / And so you burnt it…// DOWN.” Beside the ashes, the family writes a song; images depict instruments and musical notes being pulled from the family; and another illustration shows White people dancing and playing. The family travels “far and wide” and finds a new place where they can write a song and “put my story down.” Instruments in hand, the family establishes itself once again in the land. This deeply moving portrait of the push and pull of history is made concrete through Mikai’s art, which features bright green landscapes, expressive faces, and ultimately hopeful compositions. Giddens’ powerful, spare poetry, spanning centuries of American history, is breathtaking. Readers who discover her music through this book and the online recording (included as a QR code) will be forever glad they picked up this book. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A stunning, honest, yet age-appropriate depiction of historical injustice. (afterword) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-2252-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A quiet and informative picture of belated emancipation.
A father shares an important holiday with his daughter.
Mazie is unhappy because it is bedtime, and she would much rather stay up. She snuggles up to her father, who tells about a big celebration that will occur tomorrow—“on a day we call Juneteenth.” It begins with “Great, Great, Great Grandpa Mose,” who is a slave in the cotton fields until June 19, 1865, when freedom is finally proclaimed in Galveston, Texas. Dancing and celebrating in the streets greet the news. Equality does not necessarily follow, but the day is always remembered. Protests, education and forgiveness, continues the father in his narration, are part of the story, which culminates with the inauguration of Barack Obama. He promises Mazie a day of good food, fun and remembrance. Cooper’s story is straightforward and aimed at an early-elementary audience, but it provides sufficient information to use with older children as an introduction to Juneteenth, which is marking its 150th anniversary in 2015. His full-page artwork—oil paintings in softly textured yellows and browns—captures the tender relationship between a father and daughter and the sadness and pride of their family story. Broad sweeps of history are encapsulated in double-page spreads focusing on determined, prayerful and happy faces.
A quiet and informative picture of belated emancipation. (afterword) (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62370-170-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2014
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