Through Georgia's Eyes

by Rachel Victoria Rodriguez, Julie Paschkis (Illustrator)

Overview

A gorgeous, evocative biography of one of America's most beloved artists.

Georgia O'Keeffe saw the world differently from most people. As a child she roamed the prairie with a sketch pad in her hand, struggling to capture on paper what she saw all around her. At art school she learned to speak in paint on canvas.

But Georgia felt confined by city life. She longed for vast expanses of space, and she found it in the red hills and silent deserts of New Mexico.

Lyrical and vivid, this is a portrait of an exceptional artist, a woman whose eyes were open to the wideness and wonder of the world.

Through Georgia's Eyes is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780805077407
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	02/07/2006
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,070,595
Product dimensions:	8.35(w) x 10.25(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	540L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Rachel Rodríguez has published in the Los Angeles Times and aired essays on northern California public radio. She lives in San Francisco. Through Georgia's Eyes is her first book.

Julie Paschkis has illustrated many books, including Bottle Houses. Through Georgia's Eyes is her first book using cut-paper collages. She lives in Seattle, Washington.

Editorial Reviews

Breathtaking.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Written and illustrated with directness and sensitivity, this is a fresh, original portrait of the artist.” —Booklist, starred review

From the Publisher

Gr 1-4-O'Keeffe's visual voice was unique and bold for a woman born in 1887. Rodriguez gently tells this inspirational artist's story, not with hard facts on a rigid time line, but with quiet simplicity. The book begins with her childhood in Wisconsin and art school, then moves on to the canyons of the city and finally out to the expanses of Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. The influence of place on O'Keeffe is evident in the brief text. Using short, strong sentences and phrases, the author emphasizes the artist's creative force. Paschkis extends the words with the visual simplicity of colorful, cut-paper collages. These beautiful works capture the artist's style and the essence of specific works. Readers will feel the openness of Wisconsin's rolling prairie as well as the confines of art-school rooms and city canyons. The bold shapes of flowers, skulls, and mountains successfully bring the renowned artist's influence into this picture book. The clarity of text and illustrations gives it potential for group enjoyment and individual inspiration. A closing page offers several additional paragraphs on the woman's life.-Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

At the turn of the 20th century, it was very rare, almost unheard of, for a woman to become an artist. But Georgia O'Keeffe was indeed a rare commodity, and her talent and determination could not be denied. She saw the world filled with color, brightness, light and astonishing shapes. Whether she lives in the city or on her beloved Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, "Every where she looks, shapes hum and sing to her." Art is her means of communication, more intense than the spoken or written word. Using the most basic biographical facts and the sparest language, Rodriguez offers a glimpse into O'Keeffe's unique world and beseeches the reader to "lean in and look closer." Paschkis's remarkable cut-paper collages on acrylic perfectly evoke O'Keeffe's vision without ever seeming like mere imitation. It is not often that author, illustrator and subject come together so seamlessly. Breathtaking. (afterword) (Picture book/nonfiction. All ages)

Kirkus Reviews