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Summary
Summary
Winner of the Randolph Caldecott Medal and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award
Jean-Michel Basquiat and his unique, collage-style paintings rocketed to fame in the 1980s as a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the art world had ever seen. But before that, he was a little boy who saw art everywhere: in poetry books and museums, in games and in the words that we speak, and in the pulsing energy of New York City. Now, award-winning illustrator Javaka Steptoe's vivid text and bold artwork echoing Basquiat's own introduce young readers to the powerful message that art doesn't always have to be neat or clean--and definitely not inside the lines--to be beautiful.
Author Notes
Javaka Steptoe received a bachelor of fine arts degree from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. He is an artist, designer, and illustrator. His debut work, In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers, received the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award. His other books include Do You Know What I'll Do? written by Charlotte Zolotow, A Pocketful of Poems written by Nikki Grimes, Rain Play written by Cynthia Cotton, Amiri and Odette: A Love Story written by Walter Dean Myers, and Hot Day on Abbott Avenue written by Karen English, which received the 2005 Jane Addams Children's Book Award. Steptoe is the author and illustrator of The Jones Family Express and Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, which received the 2017 Randolph Caldecott Medal.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (6)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this visually arresting and vibrantly narrated biography, Steptoe (In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall) charts the childhood of incandescent, ill-fated artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988). Although the book includes no work by Basquiat himself, Steptoe emulates 1980s street art by layering paint, paper scraps, paint tubes, and photos on found-wood panels. The artist, Steptoe writes, learned to see art in the "messy patchwork of the city," the "street games of little children," and the "terrible blues" of growing up. Basquiat's early influences include his Puerto Rican mother, Matilde, who encourages him with museum visits and with the textbook Gray's Anatomy. Poetry and his Haitian father's jazz records fuel his imagination, too: "His drawings are not neat or clean, nor does he color inside the lines." Basquiat's radiance was suffused with trauma, and Steptoe alludes to Matilde's mental illness and Basquiat's teenage strife ("His mother's mind is not well, and the family breaks"). Passing references to Warhol, Haring, graffiti, and Basquiat's heroin overdose appear in the afterword: "Basquiat lived an exhilarating life, but... he struggled with a drug addiction until his death." Overall, Steptoe focuses on Basquiat's meteoric rise, and readers see the artist smiling as he walks on the gritty Lower East Side. Collaged photographs picture a crowded gallery, and Steptoe concludes in the present tense: "He is now a famous artist!" Steptoe downplays tragic elements, instead celebrating Basquiat's irreverence and brilliance. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Picture books about artists are tricky. Should the illustrator mimic the subjects style, or instead attempt to capture his or her essence? Steptoe does a little of both in this introduction to Jean-Michel Basquiat, one of the most visionaryand misunderstoodartists of his generation. Born in 1960 and raised in a loving, trilingual home in Brooklyn, Basquiat was encouraged by his parents (of Puerto Rican and Haitian descent) to follow his talent from an early age. The art world first took note of Basquiats graffiti art in the late 1970s. Later, his mixed-media paintings on unusual surfaces (such as windows and refrigerators) earned him a large following and several art shows, but during his short life he was often discouraged by racism, particularly when people labeled his style primitive. Steptoe focuses on the artists childhood, including a long recuperation after a car accident, and his mothers mental illness and its influence on his art. Because Steptoes own style, with its vivid palette and use of found objects, is similar to Basquiats, he provides a close impression of the painters work, including many of the artists motifs. While Steptoes compositions are more representational than Basquiats and easier to read, they radiate a similar sense of energy and immediacy. For many personal reasons described in his heartfelt authors note, Javaka Steptoe is the perfect person to create this book: a tour de force that will introduce an important artist to a new generation. Appended notes provide more information about Basquiats life and art; there is also a brief bibliography. lolly robinson(c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Beautifully evoking his subject's exuberant, colorful, and playful art style in jostling paintings on scraps of found wood, Steptoe introduces young readers to Basquiat's childhood and early career. Born in Brooklyn, Basquiat loved art early, and with the encouragement of his similarly artistic mother, he actively pursued his dream of being a famous artist, finding creative inspiration not only at museums but also in the color and rhythm of the city around him. Basquiat's signature style sloppy, ugly, and sometimes weird, but somehow still beautiful should appeal in particular to kids who find joy in free-form scribbles, and that same spirit animates Steptoe's collage illustrations. Thickly laid paints and exploded perspectives in bright hues depict scenes from Basquiat's life and highlight some of his iconic imagery, like golden cartoon crowns, eyeballs, and vehicles scattered everywhere. There's no mention of his problems with addiction or untimely death; rather, the book closes with him achieving his dream, crown overhead and surrounded by clipped headlines about his work. A lively, engaging introduction to a one-of-a-kind artist perfect for art-loving kids.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2016 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
"Somewhere in Brooklyn," begins this incandescent biography, the winner of the 2017 Caldecott Medal, "a little boy dreams of being a famous artist." Basquiat died in 1988 at just 27, but he left a vibrant legacy that Steptoe, painting and collaging on salvaged wood pieces from Basquiat's own hunting grounds, conveys to a new generation. Steptoe's words, too, go straight for the heart, redeeming often harsh facts of the artist's life by focusing on how both his strength and his pain powered his art. MUHAMMAD ALI A Champion Is Born By Gene Barretta. Illustrated by Frank Morrison. 40 pp. Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) "He owed it all to a stolen bicycle," Barretta writes in this playful, dynamic look at the champion's quest for greatness. We see how one childhood incident - the young Cassius Clay reported the theft to a police officer, who invited him to learn to box - set the stage for a long career. There are highlights of his boxing fame, later years and racial-justice and humanitarian work. Morrison ("The Quickest Kid in Clarksville") gives the art a joyful zing and a serious yet eminently kid-friendly vibe. THE LEGENDARY MISS LENA HORNE By Carole Boston Weatherford. Illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon. 32 pp. Atheneum. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 5 to 9) The veteran biographer Weatherford stirringly tells Lena Horne's extraordinary story - her birth into a high-achieving black family; her itinerant childhood; the showbiz career she built while enduring Jim Crow and Hollywood racism; her place in the civil rights movement; the ways "music saved her" to the end. Zunon ("Don't Call Me Grandma") plays with shadow and light to suggest the hidden depths of a very public life. The book's sizzling clarity recalls Horne's own voice. THE YoUNGEST MARCHER By Cynthia Levinson. Illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton. 32 pp. Atheneum. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 5 to 9) It's one of the more shocking and little-known stories of the civil rights movement: In 1963, the City of Birmingham jailed hundreds of kids for joining the Children's March. Among them was 7-year-old Audrey Faye Hendricks, taken from her family to spend a week behind bars, eating "oily grits" and sleeping on a bare mattress. Levinson and Newton keep her story bright and snappy, emphasizing the girl's eagerness to make a difference and her proud place in her community. FREDERICK DOUGLASS The Lion Who Wrote History By Walter Dean Myers. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. 40 pp. Harper/HarperCollins. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 5 to 9) Douglass's life story has a magisterial glow in this posthumous work from the esteemed Myers. (It stands taller than most picture books, a fitting design decision.) Myers's words pointedly convey the centrality of reading and "careful decisions" to Douglass's struggle for freedom and his later public work, offering an anchor to children trying to comprehend the cruelties of American slavery. Cooper's realistic, slightly smudged art feels equally consequential, balancing dignity and emotion.
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-5-A visually stunning picture book biography about modern art phenomenon Jean-Michel Basquiat. Coretta Scott King Award-winner Steptoe's vivid text and bold artwork reflect the Haitian Puerto Rican artist's collage-style paintings that rocketed him to fame in the 1980s. Back matter and an introduction to symbolism in Basquiat's work help readers appreciate the layers of Black identity and Yoruba influences at play in Steptoe's illustrations. © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Steptoe chronicles the formative years and evolving style of Jean-Michel Basquiat, a Brooklyn-born graffiti artist with a rising career in the 1980s fine arts world; coverage ceases before his untimely drug-related death at age 27.Steptoes canvas is wood salvaged from the Brooklyn Museum and locales that Basquiat frequented. Spaces between the patched fragments contribute to the impression of a disjointed childhood. Steptoe shows that Basquiat was smart and driven early on, influenced by his Haitian fathers jazz records and his Puerto Rican mothers style, encouragement, breakdown, and institutionalization when he was only 7. Prior to that, she drew with him, took him to see Picassos Guernica, and gave him Greys Anatomy following a serious car accident. Images of body parts imprint his increasingly complex political paintings, along with other recurring motifs explained in outstanding backmatter. Several sentences per spread speak with understated lyricism and poignancy, an occasional internal rhyme underscoring a point: Jean-Michel is confused and filled with a terrible blues / when Matilde can no longer live at home. Acknowledging his multifaceted sense of connection, Steptoe interprets Basquiats style instead of inserting particular works. Vibrant colors and personal symbols channel the sloppy, ugly, and sometimes weird, but somehow still BEAUTIFUL paintings, incorporating meticulously attributed collage elements and capturing the artists energy and mystery. Stellar bookmakinga riveting portrait of a young artist. (authors note, bibliography, biography) (Picture book/biography. 6-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.