The Art of Reading; Forty Illustrators Celebrate RIF's 40th Anniversary

Fundamental, Reading Is

ISBN 10: 0525474846 / ISBN 13: 9780525474845

Published by Dutton Juvenile, 2005

About this Item

Tight unmarked book in illustrated boards. A beautful anthology.; 0.7 x 10.2 x 10 Inches; 96 pages.

Seller Inventory # 32505

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Art of Reading; Forty Illustrators Celebrate RIF's 40th Anniversary
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
• Publication Date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0525474846
• ISBN 13: 9780525474845
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Dust Jacket
• Seller catalogs:
  • Art/Design
  • Children/Juvenile

About this title

Synopsis

For forty years, the nonprofit literacy organization Reading Is Fundamental has been putting books into the hands of children across America. To commemorate its fortieth anniversary, it has brought together forty of the most celebrated children’s book illustrators working today and asked them each to re-imagine a classic book from their childhood. The result is a collection of beautiful and captivating images and insightful essays that remind us how a child’s early experiences with books can be powerful and lasting—and can help to create writers and artists.This gift book includes a foreword by Leonard Marcus, noted historian, author, and critic in the field of children’s literature.

Reviews

Starred Review. Grade 3 Up–Forty well-known, well-loved children's book illustrators share memories of a book (and even a comic book) seminal to their development as readers and artists, and offer accompanying pieces of art–re-imagined from those books. From its cozy cover image (created by the late Fred Marcellino) of a cat and mouse companionably enthralled by the open book on which they perch, to the satisfying thumbnail biographies appended, this is a lovingly conceived, cohesive, and distinctively designed treasure. Each spread is dedicated to one of the contributors; half of it is occupied by an art piece, and half by the illustrator's reminiscence, a sidebar featuring a cameo photo-portrait of the artist, and a vividly reproduced image of the cover of the book (or, in Peter Sis's case, of the etching) that so captured the imagination and sparked the flame of creativity. Most of the art was specially created for this volume. Leonard S. Marcus's insightful and affecting foreword sets just the right anticipatory tone for readers who will be treated to spectacular pictures and often-moving personal statements. In an introductory note, Reading Is Fundamental President and CEO Carol H. Rasco says this is a book about the ability of children's literature to change lives and open hearts. She is so right. This tribute is a thing of beauty and a joy for anyone whose life has ever been electrified by the experience of a book.–Kathy Krasniewicz, Perrot Library, Old Greenwich, CT
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Gr. 7-10. To commemorate Reading is Fundamental's 40th anniversary, the nonprofit literary organization asked each of 40 contemporary children's book illustrators to write about a children's book that served as an inspiration and then to re-imagine it in an illustration. For David Diaz the book was S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders. In his essay, he talks about getting "myself out of the way so that I can bring [the characters] to life with my brush," which he does expertly in his subdued yet compelling painting of individuals packed closely together, each one alone. For Steven Kellogg, the book was Black Beauty. For Yumi Heo, it was a collection of Korean folktales. Some comments seem too heavily inspirational; the artists are obviously better at what they do than how they talk about it. But this large, handsomely designed volume will be a great introduction to artists for adults in children's literature classes and also for older kids looking back at how they got turned on to books. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved