Kid Artists

May 16, 2016
Stabler recounts the early lives of more than a dozen artists including Andy Warhol, Beatrix Potter, Yoko Ono, Keith Haring, and Vincent van Gogh in this companion to Kid Presidents and Kid Athletes. Throughout, he draws loose connections between the subjects’ childhood experiences, whether positive or negative, and their artistic development. Ted Geisel “warned about the dangers of discrimination” in books like The Sneetches in part because of anti-German prejudice he faced during WWII; Frida Kahlo’s time spent recovering from illness and injury led her to begin creating self-portraits. Memorably weird childhood moments—Jackson Pollock accidentally had part of a finger chopped off and then eaten by a rooster—are likely to stick with readers, as will Horner’s impish cartoons. Ages 9–12.

May 1, 2016
For budding artists, here's a heartening reminder that 17 unconventional greats--not to mention all the rest--started out as children too.The pseudonymous Stabler (Robert Schnakenberg in real life) adopts a liberal admissions policy for his latest gathering of anecdotal profiles (Kid Presidents, 2014, etc.). In a chapter on the influence of nature and wildlife on early artistic visions, Leonardo da Vinci and the young Vincent van Gogh rub shoulders with Beatrix Potter and Emily Carr; in another focusing on overcoming shyness or other personal, social, or economic obstacles, Jackson Pollock hangs out with Charles Schulz, Yoko Ono, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. In a third chapter that highlights the importance of a supportive parent, teacher, or other cheerleader, fathers do for prodigious young Pablo Picasso and polio-stricken Frida Kahlo, his mother for Andy Warhol, art instructors for Jacob Lawrence and Keith Haring. The author owns an easy, readable style, and though he leaves out quite a lot--Diego Rivera goes unmentioned in the Kahlo entry, nor do van Gogh's suicide, Basquiat's heroin addiction, or anyone's sexual orientation come up--he's chosen his subjects with an eye toward diversity of background, upbringing, and, eventually, style and media. Horner lightens the overall tone further with cartoon vignettes of caricatured but recognizable figures.Noncanonical entries make this a natural companion or follow-up for Kathleen Krull's essential Lives of the Artists, illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt (1995). (bibliography) (Collective biography. 10-13)

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June 1, 2016
Grades 3-6 In the same light tone as Kid Presidents (2014) and Kid Athletes (2015), Stabler and Horner present the childhoods of 16 famous artists. Divided into thematic sections, the chapters recount the early lives of creative kids who faced major obstacles (Jackson Pollock, Yoko Ono, Jean-Michel Basquiat), persevered with the encouragement of a mentor (Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Jacob Lawrence), or were inspired by nature (Vincent van Gogh, Beatrix Potter, Emily Carr). Stabler sidesteps many of the serious problems some of the artists faced to focus instead on the elements of their childhoods that inspired their later work, such as Andy Warhol's relationship with his mother, or Van Gogh's adolescent bug-collecting hobby. Since the focus of this collective biography is visual artists, it's disappointing that none of their works are pictured, though Horner's comical cartoon illustrations are a charming complement to Stabler's sometimes irreverent text. Though a factual error (to be corrected in reprint editions) is unfortunate, the impressively diverse selection of artists and inviting overall tone are redeeming.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)