Norman Rockwell: Storyteller With A Brush - Hardcover

Gherman, Beverly

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689820011 ISBN 13: 9780689820014

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2000

Synopsis

He was a pale, skinny boy with thick glasses, but Norman Perceval Rockwell knew that he could draw.
Beverly Gherman shows us how this awkward boy grew up to become a famous illustrator. As a boy, he sketched the characters from Charles Dickens's novels at the kitchen table. And although his mother discouraged him from pursuing a career in art, Norman knew early on that he could not ignore his talent. He dropped out of school at age fourteen to study art and begin the career that would eventually capture the heart of his entire nation.
The experiences of Rockwell's life became part of his paintings: a childhood trip to the country, his son's departure for the Air Force, the fire that destroyed his studio. He also depicted world events and people of his time: Charles Lindbergh's flight across the Atlantic Ocean, the soldiers of World War II, and the children involved in school integration, as well as more intimate American scenes, such as a family dinner or a trip to the doctor's office.
Beverly Gherman paints a colorful and engaging portrait of Norman Rockwell's life, enhanced by full-color reproductions of the artist's own paintings, which tell both his story and their own.

About this title

About the Author

Beverly Gherman grew up taking Norman Rockwell's work for granted. His images were everywhere: on calendars, stamps, posters, magazine covers. Several years ago she visited an eighth-grade classroom and saw the students studying Rockwell's paintings. They were excited about his work, and their enthusiasm sent her back to Rockwell's world to look at his art with a fresh eye.

Reviews

Grade 4-8-Gherman follows the artist's life from his humble beginnings to his success and, finally, to his death in 1978. The format of the biography is appealing and attractive. The pages are replete with color reproductions of Rockwell's paintings as well as photographs of the man and his family. The text is well researched and authentic; the writing style is free-flowing and the words capture the naturalness of Rockwell's paintings. Public libraries and school libraries will want to add this fascinating, informative, and inspiring biography to their collections.
Patricia Mahoney Brown, Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, Kenmore, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"[Rockwell's] great talent was that his paintings told stories without using a single word," writes Gherman (E.B. White: Some Writer!) in this anecdotal biography. Her well-chosen words join with crisp reproductions of his art to tell a heartening story of this devoted chronicler of American social history who paid tribute to "average people doing average things"--among them: Rosie the Riveter taking a lunch break (1943), a boy heading off to college in Breaking Home Ties (1954) and African-American student Ruby Bridges going to an integrated school (1964). Sketching his childhood, Gherman explains that, unlike his athletic older brother, Rockwell was skinny and clumsy, but he drew effortlessly and knew "that was what he wanted to do with his life." At 15, he quit high school to enter art school and later attended the Art Students League in New York. The author offers edifying particulars about the mechanics of Rockwell's painting; especially skilled at drawing children, he for years insisted on working from live models and later realized the efficiency and advantages of painting from photographs. Including a number of his celebrated covers for the Saturday Evening Post, of which he produced 332 over almost 50 years, the volume validates a nickname Rockwell earned early on in his career: "the kid with the camera eye." Gherman brings Rockwell into sharp focus here. Ages 8-up. (Jan.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The life and work of artist Norman Rockwell are introduced in an attractive, large-format volume, with a subtitle that aptly sums up the narrative appeal of Rockwell's work, and perhaps reveals the reason his paintings have consistently been admired by a wide audience. The chapters on Rockwell's youth and education provide a good basis for anyone wanting to understand the background of his work as well as the development of his distinctive style, and will be especially appealing to the book's intended audience. After nearly five decades of painting sometimes nostalgic, generally popular covers for The Saturday Evening Post, Rockwell made a shift to more contemporary, sometimes controversial subjects in the 1960s. Fifteen large, full-color reproductions of paintings provide good examples of his work, while the many smaller illustrations and photos offer glimpses of Rockwell within the context of his family and his work. Surrounded by a generous amount of white space, the pages balance text and illustration to bring out the best in Gherman's readable story. A most appealing introduction to a most accessible American artist. Carolyn Phelan

Edition details

• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0689820011
• ISBN 13: 9780689820014
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Rockwell Family Trust
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 64