PICTURE BOOK - Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoe

Illustrated by the artist
2017 Caldecott Medal Winner

2016 Little Brown & Company

HC $17.99

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.16 - 2472 Ratings

My rating:  5 - This is a gorgeous, informative book!

Endpapers:  White grafitti on blue

Illustrations:  Done in the style of Basquiat, the information from the author/illustrator at the back of the book is extremely interesting.

1^st line/s:  "Somewhere in Brooklyn, between hearts that thump, double Dutch, and hopsxotch and salty mouths that slurp sweet ice, a little boy dreams of being a famous ARTIST."

This is an illustration from the book

My comments:  This book is a RADIANT book!  It's also extremely interesting.  I saw the movie The Upside last night, and Kevin Hart's character mention Basquiat.  Then, this morning, this book came across my desk.  I was MEANT to read it today, n'est pas?  It was wonderful, and prompts me to look further into his work, as his story and timeline seem similar to my wonderful Keith Haring.....

This is an actual piece of Basquiat's work!

Goodreads:  Winner of the Randolph Caldecott Medal and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award
          Jean-Michel Basquiat and his unique, collage-style paintings rocketed to fame in the 1980s as a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the art world had ever seen. But before that, he was a little boy who saw art everywhere: in poetry books and museums, in games and in the words that we speak, and in the pulsing energy of New York City. Now, award-winning illustrator Javaka Steptoe's vivid text and bold artwork echoing Basquiat's own introduce young readers to the powerful message that art doesn't always have to be neat or clean--and definitely not inside the lines--to be beautiful.

MOVIE - Maudie

PG-13 (1:55)

Limited release June 16, 2017

Viewed date at Carlisle Theater (downtown) onFirday, July 21, 2017
IMBd: 7.7/10

RT Critic: 90   Audience:  93
Critic's Consensus:  Maudie's talented cast -- particularly Sally Hawkins in the title role -- breathe much-needed depth into a story that only skims the surface of a fascinating life and talent.

Cag:  5.5.Loved it

Directed by Aisling Walsh

Sony Pictures Classics

Sally Hawkins, Ethan Hawke

My comments:  About halfway through the movie I realized that it had to be a biopic, based on a true story.  Had to be.  Maudie Lewis was Canada's Grandma Moses, born in 1903, died in 1970.  Sally Hawkins was amazing as a arthritically crippled painter, aging, becoming more bent and stooped while looking for the good in her curmudgeonly husband, played by Ethan Hawke.  He was pretty decent, too (but MUCH better looking than the real guy probably was), but Sally Hawkins stole the show completely.  Their actual life was lived in Nova Scotia, but the movie was filmed in Newfoundland and was just gorgeous.  The credits at the end of the film were interspersed with some of Maud Lewis's real paintings.  Superb movie, easily a five.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  MAUDIE, based on a true story, is an unlikely romance in which the reclusive Everett Lewis (Ethan Hawke) hires a fragile yet determined woman named Maudie (Sally Hawkins) to be his housekeeper. Maudie, bright-eyed but hunched with crippled hands, yearns to be independent, to live away from her protective family and she also yearns, passionately, to create art. Unexpectedly, Everett finds himself falling in love. MAUDIE charts Everett's efforts to protect himself from being hurt, Maudie's deep and abiding love for this difficult man and her surprising rise to fame as a folk painter.

The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau - Michelle Markel

Illustrated by Amanda Hall

2012, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers

HC "Ages 5-9"

32 pages

Goodreads rating: 4.17

My rating: 5

Endpapers: Lush jungle with flowers and animals

Title Page: Rousseau eating breakfast outside a cafe, with the Eiffel tower and a French flag in the background

Illustrations:  A+ Perfect for this book!

1^st line: "Henri Rousseau wants to be an artist.  Not a single person has ever told him he is talented.  He's a toll collector.  He's forty years old."

Goodreads: Henri Rousseau wanted to be an artist. But he had no formal training. Instead, he taught himself to paint. He painted until the jungles and animals and distant lands in his head came alive on the space of his canvases. Henri Rousseau endured the harsh critics of his day and created the brilliant paintings that now hang in museums around the world. Michelle Markel's vivid text, complemented by the vibrant illustrations of Amanda Hall, artfully introduces young readers to the beloved painter and encourages all readers to persevere despite all odds

My comments on Goodreads:  A wonderfully illustrated story of how Henri Rousseau, despite all sorts of negative appreciation, pursued the artistic career that he dearly wanted. He never gave up, and kept painting until he was quite old. This book really SHOWS how he worked and worked and never gave up. Interestingly, it's told in the present tense.

A Splash of Red, The Life and Art of Horace Pippin - Jen Bryant

Illustrated by Melissa Sweet

2013, Alfred A. Knopf

HC $17.99 Carlisle's Bosler Library

32 pages

Goodreads rating: 4.26

My rating: 5

Endpapers: Front:  assorted illustrations of color palettes, etc.  Back:  a map of the US showing where you can see Pippin's art and three small paintings of Pippin's (nice to see his actual artwork)

Illustrations:  Funky, folky, wonderfully Melissa Sweet - covering the whole page with lots and lots to read and look at

1^st line: "On February 22, 1888, the town of West Chester Pennsylvania, celebrated a holiday.  That day, Daniel and Christine Pippin celebrated the birth of their son, Horace."

*TWO PAGES of afterwords, including information and all sorts of further reading including websites and films.

Goodreads:  As a child in the late 1800s, Horace Pippin loved to draw: He loved the feel of the charcoal as it slid across the floor. He loved looking at something in the room and making it come alive again in front of him. He drew pictures for his sisters, his classmates, his co-workers. Even during W.W.I, Horace filled his notebooks with drawings from the trenches . . . until he was shot. Upon his return home, Horace couldn't lift his right arm, and couldn't make any art. Slowly, with lots of practice, he regained use of his arm, until once again, he was able to paint--and paint, and paint! Soon, people—including the famous painter N. C. Wyeth—started noticing Horace's art, and before long, his paintings were displayed in galleries and museums across the country. Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet team up once again to share this inspiring story of a self-taught painter from humble beginnings who despite many obstacles, was ultimately able to do what he loved, and be recognized for who he was: an artist,

My reaction on Goodreads:  When I was in the Philadelphia Museum of Art a week or so ago I remember being quite taken with the art of Horace Pippin.  So when I saw this book - by a favorite author and illustrator - I was quite pleased.  My six-year old granddaughter said she really like the book.  When I asked her what she liked, she talked about how everyone asked Horace to draw for them.  I think she related to this, because she loves creating art for people.  We both loved the illustrations.  The words and pictures of this wonderful team (Bryant and Sweet) are truly special.  We read the book twice.