Flying Paintings by Amy Alznauer - ADVISABLE

 

Flying Paintings: The Zhou Brothers: The Story of Revolution and Art by Amy Alznauer, illustrated by ShanZuo Zhou and DaHuang Zhou.  NON-FICTION/PICTURE BOOK Candlewick Press, 2020. $18. 9781536204285  

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL – ADVISABLE  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE  

The two Zhou brothers were born in China and loved hearing their grandmother, Po Po’s, stories when they lived in her bookstore.  But when Chairman Mao infused communism into China, the brothers lose the rest of their family to labor camps and illness. The boys have always used art to depict their lives and emotions and would try to make something terrible, into something beautiful through their art. The two brothers work on their paintings together, telling their story and inspiring others to create.  

The history of the Chinese Revolution threads throughout this story of two brothers.  The illustrations are completed by the Zhou brothers themselves, adding to the feel of the biography. Although the pictures are unique, if students listen to the story they will begin to appreciate them more. There is an author’s note that gives more of the history of the Zhou brothers picking up from the end of the story and it tells where the Zhou brothers are now. 

Reviewer, C. Peterson