Book Review: Just Jerry - How Drawing Shaped My Life - A Memoir

Just Jerry: How Drawing Shaped My Life: A Memoir
by Jerry Pinkney (j Biography Pinkney)

I learned about this book at a Library Conference that I attended recently. As a fan of Jerry Pinkney’s illustrations for many years, I was thrilled to hear that a biography of the award-winning author had been published just this year. The book was written to encourage young people to fulfill their dreams in spite of obstacles that stand in their way. For Jerry, those obstacles included dyslexia, which had not even been named as a condition when he was young, and being Black, at a time when schools were still segregated and opportunities for a young Black youth far and few between. Jerry describes in great detail the difficulties he had in school until he gets the opportunity to express himself through his art with the encouragement of his teacher. Once Jerry decides on a career in art, he fought racism to be able to win a scholarship to art school beyond high school and began a career which demonstrated his talents over many decades. This was a wonderful true story of one boy’s dream to become an artist and all the people who believed in him and helped him to make his dreams come true. I really enjoyed the art and the story of his life; I highly recommend this book.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Art of Beatrix Potter by Beatrix Potter.)

 

( official Jerry Pinkney web site )

 

Recommended by Kim J.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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Book Review: Creature by Shaun Tan

Creature: Paintings, Drawings and Reflections
by Shaun Tan (YA 741.64 Tan)

I have been a fan of the artistic work of Shaun Tan since stumbling across his phenomenal wordless graphic novel The Arrival many years ago, and always enjoy seeing a new book from this Australian artist.

 

Creature is not a typical book — it is more of an artistic retrospective of his career from the mid-1990s through 2020, viewed through the lens of some over-arching themes in his work. Tan offers up some explanatory essays on the themes “Lost Things”, “Companions”, “Myth & Metaphor” and “Birds”, followed by dozens of examples of his own work that embody those themes. His fantastical fantasy illustrations embody both whimsy and alien-ness. His drawings and paintings are as likely to included a misfit robot, made of household objects merged with otherworldliness, as they are a jovial yet monstrous alien critter the size of a house. And next to these will be tiny birds, playing with tentacled and feathered pocket-sized figments of the imagination.

 

Tan explains his passion for shining the light on “lost” objects, and on normalizing the abnormal — the beautiful illustration on the book’s cover is a perfect amalgamation of Tan’s career — showing the ease with with a giant, one-eyed, feathered “creature” can befriend a young girl, who things nothing of the oddity of their friendship but simply revels in it.

 

The last fifth of the book is an appendix in which Tan offers background information on most of the pieces of artwork found in the book, explaining what inspired each piece or what his intentions were in creating them.

 

Tan is a true contemporary genius in the field of fantasy art. Creature would be a great introduction to his work for anyone who hasn’t seen it before. However, I would even more highly recommend his books that actually tell a story within a narrative structure, such as The Lost Thing, The Arrival, Cicada or Tales From the Inner City.

[NOTE: Although this has been cataloged as a Young Adult item, it didn’t feel like it — I’m reviewing it here as a recommend for adult readers.]

 

( official Creature page on the official Shaun Tan web site )

 

See Scott C.’s review of Shaun Tan’s graphic novel Cicada, in the June 2019 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: Second Place by Rachel Cusk

Second Place

by Rachel Cusk (Cusk)

 

In Rachel Cusk’s first novel since her stunning Outline Trilogy, “Second Place”, we open with the narrator “M” writing to her poet friend Jeffery about the famous painter “L” who M has invited to stay with her and her husband in their second home. M is a writer and has a broken spirit, but by inviting L to live in close proximity to her, she feels that she can get to the center of the meaning of her life through art by witnessing the artist’s process. The novel is fraught with introspection about the tension between life and art and the roles that they play and have on the artist and the audience. Each sentence peels back the narrator’s inner turmoil and the complexities (often contradictory) of human emotions and behavior.

 

“Second Place” left me breathless. This novel is slim yet each sentence invites a closer reading and Cusk writes in a hazy atmospheric tone that is perfect to read during the summer.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Facts and Furies by Lauren Groff, Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami, Department of Speculation by Jenny Offill or The Outline Trilogy (Outline, Kudos, Transit) all by Rachel Cusk.]

[ publisher’s official Second Place web page ] | [ Wikipedia page for Rachel Cusk ]

 

Recommended by Maddie O.
South Branch Library

 

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: Born to Draw Comics by Ginger Wadsworth

Born to Draw Comics: The Story of Charles Schulz and the Creation of Peanuts
by Ginger Wadsworth (j Biography Schulz)

Charming illustrated biography of author/artist Charles M. Schulz, intended for younger readers. Done is something like a “graphic novel” format, this lovely book covers the span of Sparky’s life, from his childhood in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota through his experiences in World War II and his professional life in Sebastopol and Santa Rosa, California. Author/artist Ginger Wadsworth does an excellent job capturing the personality of Schulz at various ages, and peppers little visual references throughout the book that long-time Peanuts fans will enjoy looking for. It’s always fascinating to read about the inspirations for iconic literary characters, and knowing the background of some of the Peanuts characters, especially when told in an illustrated format, is great.

Definitely worth a quick read. Although Born to Draw Comics is cataloged in the libraries’ youth collection, it is equally well suited for adult readers, who may appreciate some of the subtle details that kids may not “get”.

[ official Ginger Wadsworth web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library – Public Service

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: The Lady in Gold by Anne Marie O'Connor

The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt’s Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer
by Anne Marie O’Connor (759.36 Kli)

As an art lover, I was familiar with the works of artist Gustav Klimt, but did not know the story behind the recovery of one of his most famous works, “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer.” After seeing the film Woman in Gold about the efforts of Maria Altmann and her lawyer, Randy Schoenberg, to get Austria to return famous paintings that had been stolen from her Jewish family by the Nazis, I decided I wanted to learn more about the events that led up to this famous trial. This book is a fascinating story of everything that was going on in Vienna before the Nazis took over and the events that have happened since the end of World War II. Although I was aware of the Holocaust and efforts to regain property taken away from Jewish families, I was not aware of the extreme difficulties survivors encountered in reclaiming what rightfully belonged to them. O’Connor’s book does an excellent job of showing the subject from all points of view — from the victims, the art museums, the legal scholars and the politicians. This was a story that I could not put down. I highly recommend it.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the DVDs Woman in Gold, and World on Fire.] [ official Anne Marie O’Connor web site ]

See Rianne S’s review of The Lady in Gold, here on BookGuide in November 2012

Recommended by Kim J.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: Keith Haring: The Boy Who Just Kept Drawing

Keith Haring: The Boy Who Just Kept Drawing
by Kay Haring (j Biography Haring)

With its graphics and book design, this nonfiction children’s book suggests an excellent way to educate kids about the work of historically significant visual artists; Keith Haring: The Boy Who Just Kept Drawing integrates Keith Haring Foundation-approved reproductions of the artist’s own work into the affable illustrations by Robert Neubecker. Through a blend of picture book, biography, and fine art, the young reader can trace Haring’s artistic development from a very young child to the heights of international art world stardom. Haring’s mission during his lifetime to make art accessible to all is well-served by this publication.

The author is Haring’s sister, Kay, who provides a rare glimpse of the artist growing up in Kutztown, PA and a personal perspective that only a family member can provide. It is a fine supplement to the art historical literature about Haring and supports the idea that he was voluntarily possessed by and eventually in command of a lyrical graphomania throughout his life; budding artists who have surprised their parents with an unplanned scribble-mural on a bare wall might well be inspired by this “boy who just kept drawing.” Haring’s interest in semiotics, or the study of signs and symbols, is also illustrated to have been a lifelong preoccupation.

The book is listed at the 5 – 8 age range, but four pages at the end that contain an Author’s Note and a brief biography are at a higher reading level, and will satisfy kids and adults who want to know more.

[ publisher’s official Keith Haring: The Boy Who Just Kept Drawing web page] | [ official Kay Haring Twitter feed ]

Recommended by Eric S.
Walt Branch Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!