(4) K-3 Illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon. Present-tense rhymes ostensibly voiced by African American artist Bearden describe his childhood move from North Carolina to Harlem, where his past informed what would become his celebrated collage art. The rhymes, which an author's note says reflects Bearden's love of blues and jazz, don't sound kidlike; the oil and collage art, which also salutes Bearden, tells his story better. Reading list, websites.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) 4-6 This presentation of Bearden's life as reflected in his later, post-civil rights work does, sometimes, strike a chord. But the book is overdesigned, with the pictures framed in a Mondrianesque grid of color-blocks that echo the colors of each in turn--a disservice to Bearden's powerful imagery. Some fine pictures and some effective biographical connections, but also a good many missteps large and small. Chronology, source notes. Bib., glos.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2003