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LUKE’S WAY OF LOOKING

Name: LUKE’S WAY OF LOOKING
Author: Nadia Wheatley
ISBN: 1-929132-18-2

by Nadia Wheatley & illustrated by Matt Ottley ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2001

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Luke draws the nose and ears in the wrong place in a portrait. And worst of all he draws a completely imaginary view of the scene through the classroom window. Mr. Barraclough totally rejects Luke’s artistic attempts. He screams at Luke, tears his work, and even destroys his brushes. Friday art class becomes a torment. One Friday Luke gets on a bus, and discovers a museum of modern art. “For the first time in his life, Luke felt at home.” (This brings up some unanswered questions about his home life. Perhaps his teacher is not the only one who rejects his vision.) He sees abstract and surreal paintings and sculptures that look just perfect to him. He is carried back to school in such a state of euphoria that even the bus ride presents him with exciting new visions. He arrives just in time to join the art class and paints a watermelon of such surreal beauty that even Mr. Barraclough is speechless. In a visual tour de force Ottley uses a dazzling variety of styles, media, and techniques that virtually encapsulate a history of modern art and includes visual references to Picasso, Dali, Pollock, and more. On the surface Wheatley’s text and Ottley’s illustrations present a plea for understanding that the artist’s vision should be accepted, appreciated, and allowed to express itself freely. However, there appears to be something disturbing here too. Mr. Barraclough is presented as a raging, monstrous figure both in the text and the illustrations. He doesn’t just disapprove of Luke’s art; he becomes a depiction of evil. Mr. Barraclough and everything in the ordinary world are drawn in pen and ink with an emphasis on shadows. Only Luke’s paintings and the works in the museum are given color. As Luke is awakened to the “rightness” of his vision, he and the world around him take on color and brightness. Mr. B. doesn’t achieve color until he ceases to denigrate Luke’s work. So what is the message? Who decides what art is good art? In the end there is no real respect for different visions; they are merely placed in warring camps, sure to stir up controversy. (Picture book. 8-10)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001

ISBN: 1-929132-18-2

Page Count: 36

Publisher: Kane Miller

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2001

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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THE SCRAMBLED STATES OF AMERICA

by Laurie Keller & illustrated by Laurie Keller ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1998

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Imagine the states, Kansas, California, Ohio, and all the rest, as people with toothy grins, ping-pong balls for eyes, pipe cleaner limbs, and full-blown personalities. Imagine, then, that they get together at a party and decide to switch places on the map. In this amusing spoof, Kansas wakes up one morning saying, “I’m not feeling happy at all!” and starts the whole thing. Florida goes to Minnesota, California goes to Wisconsin, Nevada and Mississippi fall in love. Then the trouble starts: Alaska, who had missed company, feels claustrophobic among other states; Kansas finds his place in the middle of the ocean to be a bit too quiet; Minnesota, in Florida’s spot, forgets to pack suntan lotion; and so on. Soon the states are rushing back to their original spots with sighs of relief. Keller, in her first book pushes a silly idea, to great lengths, and will elicit laughs from all those who thought geography was boring. The states are colorful, boastful, belligerent, and charming, in collage illustrations that are full of spontaneous asides and intriguing labels. The states appear in a final gallery, with a few statistics to square off the whole funny enterprise. (Picture book. 8-10)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1998

ISBN: 0-8050-5802-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1998

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
I USED TO BE A DINOSAUR
by Casey Lyall ; illustrated by Laurie Keller

- BOOK REVIEW
BEARS ARE BEST!
by Joan Holub ; illustrated by Laurie Keller

- BOOK REVIEW
WAKE ME UP IN 20 COCONUTS!
by Laurie Keller ; illustrated by Laurie Keller

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THE SINGING ROCK & OTHER BRAND-NEW FAIRY TALES

by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer ; illustrated by Simini Blocker ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 18, 2019

Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock”...

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The theme of persistence (for better or worse) links four tales of magic, trickery, and near disasters.

Lachenmeyer freely borrows familiar folkloric elements, subjecting them to mildly comical twists. In the nearly wordless “Hip Hop Wish,” a frog inadvertently rubs a magic lamp and finds itself saddled with an importunate genie eager to shower it with inappropriate goods and riches. In the title tale, an increasingly annoyed music-hating witch transforms a persistent minstrel into a still-warbling cow, horse, sheep, goat, pig, duck, and rock in succession—then is horrified to catch herself humming a tune. Athesius the sorcerer outwits Warthius, a rival trying to steal his spells via a parrot, by casting silly ones in Ig-pay Atin-lay in the third episode, and in the finale, a painter’s repeated efforts to create a flattering portrait of an ogre king nearly get him thrown into a dungeon…until he suddenly understands what an ogre’s idea of “flattering” might be. The narratives, dialogue, and sound effects leave plenty of elbow room in Blocker’s big, brightly colored panels for the expressive animal and human(ish) figures—most of the latter being light skinned except for the golden genie, the blue ogre, and several people of color in the “Sorcerer’s New Pet.”

Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock” music. (Graphic short stories. 8-10)