Georgia's Terrific, Colorific Experiment by Zoe Perisco

Georgia lives in a family of artists, but she wants to be a SCIENTIST. So she decides that she needs to design the perfect experiment to show the world her scientific prowess. When her artistic, imaginative family tries to help her by giving her advice, she tells them to leave her alone, only to soon discover that maybe art and science really do hold hands with each other. Georgia's Terrific, Colorfic Experiment is sort of the picture book embodiment of this poster you see circulating around the internet: So often we look at science and art as opposing forces. But these two ways of thinking really do need to hold hands with each other in order to make our world safer, fairer, and more humane. It is why I think so many people are concerned about the STEM movement and asked for STEM programs in schools to now become STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, ART, and Mathematics). When we forget about the creativity and imagination involved in our academic endeavors, this is when dangerous decisions are made on behalf of humanity. Schools that are running both STEM and STEAM programs would benefit from reading books like Georgia's Terrific, Colorific Experiment to students and staff alike as to prevent a myopic way of thinking.  Georgia's Terrific, Colorific Experiment by Zoe Perisco Published: April 2, 2019 Publisher: Running Press Kids Pages: 32 Genre/Format: Picture Book Audience: STEM/STEAM schools Disclosure: Library Copy

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

Magic Trash: A Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art by J.H. Shapiro, illustrated by Vanessa Newton

In the heart of a decrepit neighborhood in Detroit, Tyree Guyton started what is now know as the Heidelberg Project out of frustration for the riff raff that had moved into his neighborhood. Painting a crack house with bright-colored polka dots kept the criminals at bay and started an art movement that would divide residents of the city and of Heidelberg Street. Some people saw it as trash, others art. Twenty-five years later, the Heidelberg Project is still going strong, and is its own visitor's destination in a city that rarely gets visitors.

Using collage art and rhythmical prose, J.H. Shapiro and Vanessa Newton have captured the spirit and the soul of the Heidelberg Project in this book's scant pages.

The Heidelberg Project has been riddled with arson as of late so getting the message out about the importance of what this art installation means to the community is of utmost importance 

For more information on the Heidelberg Project, visit heidelberg.org


Magic Trash: A Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art by J.H Shapiro, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
Published: July 1, 2011
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Pages: 32
Genre: Biography Picture Book
Audience: Primary/Middle Grade
Disclosure: Review copy provided by publisher

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound.  

Viva Frida by Yuyi Morales

A young woman searches.

She sees.

She explores.

And finally, she creates.


This beautiful picture book about Frida Kahlo is not so much a biography as it is a living, breathing poem that celebrates her artistry and creativity. The colorful photographs of puppets that evolve into dreamlike paintings later in the story, add to the poetry of images and language. The delightful Niño Wrestles the World was my first foray into Yuyi Morales's work, and now that I've witnessed Viva Frida's as well as Niño's artistic genius, I am convinced that someone needs to give Morales a Caldecott already. It's likely not to be for Viva Frida since the question of whether to include the photographer, Tim O'Meara, as a contributing artist complicates the question of whether he would be included as one of the winners, but I've decided that eventually this woman needs to win the most prestigious award for children's book illustration.

Viva Frida gave me chills and a lump in my throat when I read it. I know others have criticized it for not giving enough insight into Frida Kahlo's life in the story itself, but to me, this book is so much bigger than just a biography of a famous artist. As I mentioned above, it felt like I was witnessing a living, breathing poem and I was utterly enchanted. I think the open-endedness of the text also intrigues readers enough to want to go out and learn more about Kahlo's life. I know it did for me.  

I discussed the book with my 8th graders to get their opinions, and many of them felt that, despite the fact that younger kids might not understand everything that is happening in the text and illustrations, it still has facets that are appealing to kids (minimal text, bright illustrations that call them to use their imaginations). And yet, despite the text's spare simplicity, it is still a very complex book, which is an observation one of my astute 8th graders made and it was right on the money. To quote another one of my 8th graders, it is a book "you have to read with your heart, not your eyes."

With the plea for more diversity in children's literature this year, the multicultural and multilingual aspects of Viva Frida - with text in both English and Spanish - also make this an important book to have on our classroom and library shelves. 

Watch this video to witness the beautiful and complicated process behind the making of Viva Frida:


Viva Frida by Yuyi Morales
Published: September 2, 2014
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Pages: 40
Genre: Picture Book
Audience: Primary, Middle Grade, Young Adult...
Disclosure: Library Copy 

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

Starry Night: A Near Ten Year Odyssey

I've never been an artistic person, in the visual arts sense. I can't draw to save my life. So I always dreaded art class in school. During my sophomore year of high school, I had to take an art credit so I took a basic intro to art class. All my friends were taking cool classes like pottery, but I was stuck in remedial art.

That semester I was introduced to the works of Vincent Van Gogh and I was immediately captivated. His Starry Night painting was so expressive and full of swirling emotion that when given the opportunity to complete a post-impressionism crayon-resist painting, I chose Starry Night as my muse.

Now to say my version was good would be to laugh in the face of a brilliant artist like Van Gogh, and yet, I was very proud of how "not terrible" it turned out because, up until that point, my artistic endeavors often left me feeling like I wanted to cry due to my absolute lack of talent. So Starry Night has always had a special place in my heart for that reason.

I am not an artist. So I was very proud of my attempt at Van Gogh's Starry Night my sophomore year of high school

Back in 2004 when my husband and I were living in Germany we had the opportunity to travel to Amsterdam and I was excited about getting the chance to visit the Van Gogh Museum to actually see Starry Night in person. So as we're walking around the museum, I'm just waiting any second to turn a corner and have it appear to me, choir of angels and a dreamlike vision where everything is blurred out except for the beautiful painting I've been waiting to see come into focus. Except it never did. We walked through the entire museum and never saw Starry Night. So my husband and I walked up to a docent and were like, "So yeah, where's Starry Night?" 

He looked at us as if to say, "Don't you know anything?" But instead just said. "It's not here."

Ummm... Okay. "So where is it then?"

"The Museum of Modern Art in New York."

You mean to tell me that Van Gogh's most famous painting isn't even in his own museum? Oh the injustice. But fear not! Four years later, my husband and I were going to New York City, so of course a visit to MoMA was a must on the list.

Except for one problem. Starry Night wasn't there.

Guess where it was?

On loan to the freakin' Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam!!!!

Seriously? The universe just didn't want me to see that painting for whatever reason.

But finally, finally this summer after almost ten years of trying to see it, we returned to MoMA and happened upon this thing of wonder and beauty, replete with angel choir and dreamlike tunnel-vision:

Some things are just worth waiting for.