BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL, EL - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
As a young girl, Alma Thomas loved all the colors around her, the flowers the leaves the grass and the sunsets. She didn't like to cook or sew, like her sisters, instead she used the clay from the banks of the brook to make bowls and cups. Because of Segregation, she and her sisters couldn't attend the local school, but her parents invited people into their home to tell stories and teach the girls. While she was still young, Alma and her family moved to Washington DC, where she graduated from Art college and became a teacher. Access to art and museums for black people was still limited, so Alma opened her home so children could learn about art there. In her 60s she stopped teaching and focused on making art, eventually having her work shown in important galleries. The Obamas purchased one of her paintings to hang in the White House.
Loveis Wise's illustrations are perfect - representing the time period's art and so like Alma's actual paintings. A nice addition to your picture book biographies, and I also this Art teachers could use it in the classroom.
Lisa Librarian
No comments:
Post a Comment