Art of Reading: Rif's 40th Ann

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
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