Genre 1--Book Review 1

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gauch, Patricia Lee, David Briggs, Courtenay Palmer, Kiffin Steurer, and Semedar Megged, eds. 2007. ARTIST TO ARTIST: 23 MAJOR ILLUSTRATORS TALK TO CHILDREN ABOUT THEIR ART. New York: Penguin Group. ISBN: 978-0-399-24600-5

PLOT SUMMARY

ARTIST TO ARTIST: 23 MAJOR ILLUSTRATORS TALK TO CHILDREN ABOUT THEIR ART, a beautiful anthology of art and commentaries by twenty-three of the most celebrated illustrators of children’s book art, is presented as letters to young artists. Artists include Tomie dePaola, Maurice Sendak, Eric Carle, Jane Dyer, and many other famous and celebrated children’s book illustrators and authors. Through informal first-person dialogue, each artist tells some of their personal history, offers advice about making art, following your dreams, and words of wisdom and encouragement.

The preface is a note, written by Eric Carle. As he writes about his mentors and the important people who encouraged his work, he offers the book as “a kind of mentor for you, young artist.” As the reader turns the page, a “letter” and self-portrait is revealed. The letter page includes photographs of the artists as children and a replication of the artist’s signature. Except for a photograph of deceased artist Leo Lionni, each artist creates a self-portrait using varying mediums ranging from pencil to “pop-up” that appears on the right side of the page. Each portrait page folds open to a double page of illustrations, photographs, and captions depicting the artist’s processes, studios, materials, and art. Often the art is shown in the various stages of its creation—demonstrating to the reader the steps in the artistic method. The end of the book includes a note from the director of the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art describing the art studio that allows children to make art. The book also includes short biographies of the artists and a selected bibliography of the artists’ works. Proceeds from the book benefit the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art which opened in 2002 in Amherst, MA.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

A compilation of the work and wisdom of twenty-three distinguished children’s book illustrators and authors, ARTIST TO ARTIST: 23 MAJOR ILLUSTRATORS TALK TO CHILDREN ABOUT THEIR ART is a wonderfully engaging celebration of creativity. The advice to young artists is inspiring and written on a level for all ages. Young children will enjoy being read to and older readers can navigate the straight forward prose independently. The majority of the missives begin with “When I was very young,” or something similar and the first person stories from artists’ childhoods give the young reader a personal connection to the artist. The book demonstrates the path to art and fulfilling your dreams inspiring the reader to gather up a box of crayons and a Big Chief tablet and begin. When Barry Moser tells the fledgling artist, “So my young friend, never let anyone tell you that you cannot do something. You can,” he makes the reader a true believer.

Each artist (except for Leo Linonni) presents a self-portrait and I found myself examining the pages over and over. Maurice Sendak draws himself into a scene with characters from his books including Where the Wild Things Are and I had to find my lighted magnifying glass to discern all the detail. Photographs and drawings of the artists’ studio allow the reader to be the “fly on the wall.” This book is a must for children (and adults) who love book art. It’s amazing.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Starred review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, October 1, 2007
...the end result is a gorgeous, browsable gallery of international treasures, with a behind-the-scenes tour led by the generous and gifted creators themselves.-Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library

Review from PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, August 13, 2007
…offers a captivating look at these illustrators' methods and the passion that lies behind their work.

Review from VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES, December 1, 2007
From ideas to spark inspiration to sound advice and wisdom, these literary snapshots of children's book illustrators provide special insight into the minds of artists.-Nancy K. Wallace.

CONNECTIONS

· The website for the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art has a fantastic website. It includes a virtual tour of the facility, a “send e-card” capability, and shopping.

www.picturebookart.org

· After examining the self-portraits, students may create their own self-portrait.

· After reading the letters of advice from the artists, students may write their own letter offering advice and encouragement. For instance, for fifth grade students: Write a letter of advice for a kindergarten student.