Children's Biography: Uncle Andy's

Warhola, J. (2003). Uncle Andy's. New York, NY: Putnam.

Reading level: AD640L

Interest level: Grades 1 - 3

 

Written by James Warhola, “Uncle Andy’s” explores what it would be like to have the ultimate in bizarre, quirky uncles – Andy Warhol. Warhola invites us along a trip his family took to visit Warhol in the summer of 1962, the year of Warhol’s first solo exhibition. Warhola did both the text and the artwork for this book, and his illustrations are adorable and detailed. Warhol is almost too cute, with geometrically spiky white hair and Mary Englebreit-esque facial expressions. The story works, and the author is even playful with his depiction of his father, explaining that his dad left his yard littered with his junkyard overflow and never bothered to call ahead to warn Andy they were coming. I thought these bits of family information went nicely parallel with what we know about Warhol: his affinity for “junk,” his general irreverence. Also, when describing one of Warhol’s Coke case projects: “Uncle Andy didn’t buy those soup boxes, he built them out of wood and painted each one. They were art and really important, too, because Uncle Andy told us not to touch any of it.” I also learned some great factoids about Warhol, like that he lived with his mother and had 25 cats. The story ends with Warhola feverishly drawing and painting in his own room, inspired by his trip to see his artist uncle. In the classroom, you could use this book to lead a discussion on what makes art “art” or how we are inspired. 

Warhola's official website

Children's Biography: Come Look With Me: Discovering Women Artists for Children

Coyne, J. T. (2005). Come look with me: discovering women artists for children. New York, NY: Lickle Pub. Inc.







Reading Level: 940L
Interest Level: Grades 3 - 5
 

The “Come Look With Me” series introduces children to famous artists and their works. Each book showcases 12 important works on a theme. Obviously, this book focuses on important women in art history, and hits on a lot of the high points, including Mary Cssatt, Georgia O’Keeffe, Grandma Moses, and Frida Kahlo. This book was made for the classroom: not only is it geared towards general art history education (includes a basic artist’s biography and raison d'etre for each work), it includes discussion questions for each artwork. For example, for Georgia O’Keefee’s White Rose with Larkspur, No.2, the student is asked, “What shapes and images do you see I the painting?” and “What do these flowers smell like?” The works chosen aren’t what I feel are the best some of these artists produced, but they are some of the safest and most appropriate – which is a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you see it.

Children's Biography: Woody Guthrie: Poet of the People

Christensen, B. (2001). Woody Guthrie: poet of the people. New York: Knopf.

Reading Level: 890L

Interest Level: Grades 4 - 6

 

Literally framed by the lyrics of “This Land Is Your Land” (the lyrics appear scrawled above every page), “Woody Guthrie: Poet of the People” gives the famous folkie’s legacy a context. Guthrie’s life fit the context of the time: his mother died of Huntington’s Disease, and his family suffered from chronic poverty, too. Like others seeking shelter from the relentless dust, Guthrie headed west for work on California farms. On his way, he met a lot of desperate families in the temporary migrant camps, and Guthrie realized he wanted to sing for those people, speak for the voiceless. The dark blue, tan, and black palette is reminiscent of the colors you’d see on a pair of overalls or a factory jumpsuit – very much a nod to the blue collar working class Guthrie’s music celebrates. While I enjoyed this book, I think the author could have chosen better lyrics; the ones in the book are among the most boring and repetitive that Guthrie had to offer. The back of the book includes the full lyrics for “This Land Is Your Land” and a timeline of salient Depression era events. In an educational setting, you could use this book to supplement a history lesson on the Great Depression or, specifically, the Dust Bowl. Side note: this book strongly endorses unions (it’s freaking Woody Guthrie), and since this is Texas, that could be problematic.