Tag: frida kahlo

Great Lives In Graphics (Button Books)

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Hello, friends! We’re bringing you a special weekend review and taking a look at the latest titles in Button Books’ Great Lives In Graphics series, which introduces notable figures from history in a kid-friendly, infographic-style format.

Did you know that William Shakespeare invented 1,700 words? Or that Frida Kahlo painted over 200 paintings in her lifetime? Did you know Jane Austen invented a writing technique called “free indirect speech” that changed the fiction genre forever? Or that Nikola Tesla could speak eight languages and had a photographic memory? Young readers can learn these fascinating factoids and more, laid out in a colorful and engaging infographic style that is sure to leave the audience with a better understanding of these fascinating figures.

We’ve reviewed a couple of titles from this series before, and these six new additions – covering Tesla, Shakespeare, Austen, Kahlo, Mozart, and Einstein – are equally edifying and fun. Information on the luminaries’ lives, the time periods and societies in which they lived, and the lasting impact of their work are all organized into infographics that are packed with facts but never overwhelming, and are perfect for grabbing the attention of elementary to middle-grade readers. Occasionally, some of the details or subjects covered can feel a little extraneous (such as the biological mechanics of how we hear sound in Mozart’s biography), but most are enriching and often fun; a particular favorite for me was the Regency Name Generator in Austen’s book, and JJ loved the Shakespeare Insult Generator. Overall, these are incredible ways to gets kids engaged in historical figures and events, and we highly recommend them. Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: Copies of these books were provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)

Pocket Bios: Anne Frank, Frida Kahlo, & Marie Curie (Al Berenger)

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Hello, friends! Our books today are three more from the Pocket Bios series by Al Berenger: Anne Frank, Frida Kahlo, and Marie Curie.

As with previous installments in the series, each book walks the reader through a concise look at its subject’s life, including notable events, works, and accomplishments. Each page focuses on a different event or time period, accompanied by an illustration on the opposite page, and all three books include backmatter with maps, timelines, and more.

As with the three that we reviewed for Black History Month, these biographies are fairly well-done (if occasionally faulty) primers for these remarkable women. Curie’s is strongest, covering her quest for education despite her gender, her romance with Pierre Curie and their work together, her two Nobel prizes, and her premature death (though little effort is given to describing her actual work). Kahlo’s is also quite good for the same reasons, but suffers greatly from not showing her actual art, romanticizes her tumultuous relationship with Diego Rivera, and completely ignores her open bisexuality. And while it tries to capture her indomitable spirit, Anne Frank’s is a mess in terms of tone; illustrations of Hitler surrounded by saluting Nazis, or of Otto Frank weeping despondently over the deaths of his daughters, portrayed in the series’ bright, bobble-headed character style is cringingly inappropriate. As with previous books in this series, these aren’t bad as primers, but picture book biographies have been done far better for each woman. Otherwise, the lengths aren’t bad, even for small bookworms, and JJ enjoyed them okay. I would say skip Frank’s, but Kahlo and Curie are Baby Bookworm approved.

(Note: Copies of these books were provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)

Frida Kahlo And Her Animalitos (Monica Brown)

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Hello, friends! Our book today is Frida Kahlo And Her Animalitos, written by Monica Brown and illustrated by John Parra, a lovely storybook primer on the beloved artist.

Frida Kahlo had many passions, and two of them were painting and animals. She had many pets throughout her life: a parrot, spider monkeys, two turkeys, three dogs, a black cat, an eagle, and even a baby deer. The animals reflected much of Frida’s nature and history: she was curious and clever like a monkey, independent and resilient like a cat, and loved growing up in a lovely blue home the color of her parrot’s feathers. Even through sickness, injury, and loneliness, Frida took comfort in her animals and her art. And even today, her home is a sanctuary for the animals that inspired her.

This was a unique and sweet way to introduce Frida to a younger audience, and mostly succeeded in doing so. The layout of the story – introducing the animals first, then connecting them to various times, events, and themes of Kahlo’s life – is very engaging for little ones, and feature a loving look into Frida’s relationships with her family, her pets, and her culture. The art is lovely, combining a vintage storybook style with Frida’s own color palette. However, one quibble: not ONE of Kahlo’s painting was featured! The backmatter includes a photo and recommendations for paintings to look into, but no samples of Kahlo’s actual art can be found. It was a noticeable omission, and a disappointing one. Otherwise, the length was fine, and JJ enjoyed the illustrations, so we’re still going to recommend this one, but perhaps as a supplement to a fuller lesson on Kahlo and her work. Baby Bookworm approved!

Me, Frida (Amy Novesky)

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Summer Reading Day 47: Today’s book was Me, Frida by Amy Novesky, and as you could probably guess, it’s a children’s book about Frida Khalo. The story covers the period of time in which Frida moved with Diego Rivera to San Francisco and felt out of place and homesick. Eventually, of course, she worked hard, painted, and carved a life for herself by being herself, and all of that is covered here.

The story is a well-written, and leaves the reader with an important moral about perseverance and belief in yourself, even if it relies a little too heavily on Frida’s supposedly devoted and loving relationship with her husband (when in fact, their relationship was a tumultuous mess) as her motivation and validation. And of course, as you would expect from any book about Frida, the art is gorgeous. The length was not even unreasonable for a one-year old. Thumbs up!