(2) K-3 Throughout this picture-book biography of Asawa (1926–2013), a Japanese American creator of nature-inspired wire sculptures, there's an emphasis on the handmade--from a childhood on a farm to her college studies to learning basket-weaving from a craftsperson in Mexico. The illustrations evoke the handmade; charcoal and colored-pencil drawings are combined with hand-painted and monoprinted paper in distinctive, naive-style collages. More about Asawa's life and a "Make Your Own Paper Dragonfly" activity are appended. Bib.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2019

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Hadley Hooper. After struggling for years, Swiss-born twentieth-century sculptor Alberto Giacometti found fame for his tall, spindly figures (e.g., Walking Man series), while Diego (who later become known for his furniture designs) worked tirelessly to support his brother's art. The book touches on life events in snapshot-like sections that nevertheless provide strong impressions. Hooper's art, in paint and ink and finished digitally, is strikingly dynamic. Timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(1) 4-6 In this story of coping with loss and change, lonely twelve-year-old Amelia befriends the local clay studio owner's visiting nephew, Casey, during spring-break week. When they encounter a woman resembling Amelia's mother--who died when Amelia was two--the friends begin to imagine the impossible. The week's cheerlessness morphs into something complex and important as new people enter Amelia's world, enabling her to better understand herself and those she loves.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Jon Klassen. In a companion book to Triangle, Square pushes square boulders to a hilltop. Seeing a resemblance between Square and the block he's pushing, his friend Circle calls Square an artistic genius. Before Square knows it, he's agreed to create a sculpture in Circle's likeness. Angled lines and white space direct readers' eyes across each page, and short sentences, smart dialogue, and word repetition keep the story steadily moving.

Reviewer: Elisa Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2018

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Stevie Lewis. Stone lions Patience and Fortitude stand guard at the New York Public Library. One morning Fortitude wakes up to find Patience missing. He searches the library, encountering other artworks, and finally finds Patience in the children's room. In this NYPL-tour masquerading as a story, Funk's rhyming text occasionally stumbles, but Lewis's brown-and-tan-hued digital illustrations have cool retro flair. Information about the library is appended.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Claire A. Nivola. Rosenstock's moving picture-book celebration of folk artist Nek Chand (creator of the Rock Garden of Chandigarh) opens in an idyllic village in Punjab. After the Partition of India in 1947, resettled refugee Chand assuages homesickness by (illegally) clearing jungle land and building an ever-increasing number of sculptures and mosaic walls out of recycled materials. Nivola's folk-art sensibility befits the simplicity of Chand's art. Bib.

Reviewer: Megan Dowd Lambert | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2018

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Traci Van Wagoner. Schoettler traces the artistic journey of Japanese American sculptor Ruth Asawa, from her childhood years (partially spent in an internment camp) to her eventual public commissions for fountains around San Francisco. Like Asawa's giant looped-wire sculptures, Van Wagoner's illustrations skillfully play with light and shadow. Combined, text and illustrations suggestively capture the uniqueness of Asawa's art while deftly exploring the ways her experiences influenced it. Author's note appended.

Reviewer: Erica Wetter

(3) YA An accessible biographical novel in verse about Edmonia Lewis, a nineteenth-century Oberlin College–educated sculptor of Ojibwe and black heritage about whom little is known. Atkins vividly imagines the dramas, traumas, and successes of her life. Together, facts and filled-in fictionalization create a graceful, compelling portrait of an important woman artist. A biographical end note is appended. Bib.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) 4-6 In the northern Indian city of Chandigarh, fictional street boy Ram's life intersects with that of a real self-taught artist, Nek Chand, creator of an amazing garden of sculptures fabricated from recycled materials. Ram helps save the garden from destruction in this compelling contemporary story that also successfully weaves in parts of the Ramayana, the great Indian epic. Author's note. Glos.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Blending art, history, and fantasy, this story starts in WWII Florence, where Renato's museum-conservator father is building enclosures to protect sculptures from German soldiers. Renato loves sculpture, too, especially a stone lion in the Piazza della Signoria; the lion carries the boy on a dream journey before the family flees Italy. Impressionistic watercolors highlight Florence's art, architecture, and landscapes. A fascinating author's note is appended.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Joanna Boillat. When Leo touches a statue in Paris' Musée d'Orsay, the bear comes to life. Named for his sculptor, François Pompon (mentioned in the background note), Pompon the bear mysteriously flies away; Elschner imagines it's now Pompon's "twin" in his place..." and he is waiting for someone like you to visit him." Strong forms, muted colors, and red accents dominate the illustrations in this whimsical tale of art appreciation.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) 4-6 Checkerboard Library: Cool Makerspace series. This series centered on makerspaces should give middle-grade makers, crafters, and hobbyists fresh ideas to spark their creative imaginations. Framed with a boilerplate introduction to makerspaces and standard safety messages and materials lists, each volume offers stepped project directions illustrated with clear photos; useful "tip" sidebars appear throughout. Younger crafters may need some adult help, but they'll be motivated. Glos., ind. Review covers these Checkerboard Library: Cool Makerspace titles: Make It Yourself! Paper Pop-Up Art, Make It Yourself! Bots & Circuits, Make It Yourself! Collages & Sculptures, Make It Yourself! From Junk to Jewelry, Make It Yourself! Coloring & Doodling, and Make It Yourself! Comics & Graphic Novels.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(3) K-3 LEGO artist Kenney offers readers a VIP pass to view his work in this hefty, comprehensive volume. Eleven sections are divided thematically, with chapters devoted to his LEGO-construction animals, vehicles, logos, and more. Conversational text covers Kenney's process, challenges, and anecdotes; the well-designed pages showcase the impressive sculptures. The presentation concludes with chapters on Kenney's previous books and a behind-the-scenes with Kenney and his team. Ind.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault. Bourgeois, who became most famous for her giant sculptures of spiders, also worked with textiles, and it's at her family's tapestry-restoration workshop in France, along a river "that wove like a wool thread through everything," that the book begins. Novesky sews together the many themes of Bourgeois's art and life into a spare yet lilting narrative. Arsenault's mixed-media illustrations create stylistically and compositionally varied images.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2016

(3) 1-3 Rider Woofson series. Illustrated by Ben Whitehouse. In this new detective series, Rider Woofson and his pals in the Pup Investigators Pack are on the tails of some of Pawston's most dangerous criminals: an art thief, an imposter New Sealand prince, and the crooks who nab David Bow-Wowie's instruments. Chock-full of animal gags ("meow-nificent"), cartoony illustrations, and cliffhanger chapters, this is a good starter-mystery set. Review covers the following Rider Woofson titles: The Case of the Missing Tiger's Eye, Something Smells Funny, and Undercover in the Bow-Wow Club.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(2) 4-6 Adapted by Jack Zipes. Translated by Jack Zipes. Sculptures and photographs by Shaun Tan. In a book-lover's book with riveting art and tantalizing story-bites, each of seventy-five double-page spreads includes, on the verso, a quote from one of the Grimms' tales, translated by Zipes; and, on the recto, a full-page photograph by Tan of a sculpture he has created to power-drive the story. An afterword on Tan's medium and process completes this thoughtful compendium. Reading list.

Reviewer: Betsy Hearne | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2016

(3) YA Seventeen-year-old Sephora lives with her mother in gritty Venice Beach, California, and spends her free time making art from found objects. Uncomfortable in her own skin and tortured by a secret, Sephora struggles to find her place in the world. Interspersed with stories from mythology and classic fairy tales, Arnold's novel feels authentic; teens will relate to Sephora's brutally honest, well-rendered voice.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(2) K-3 As a girl, Mary Nohl "was happiest when her hands were busy making, building, creating things." Later she returns to the Wisconsin lake house she'd helped her father build and begins a lifelong art project, erecting a menagerie of larger-than-life sculptures inspired by her world travels. Touches of whimsy reflect Mary's outsized imagination; digital collages of scratchy, affectionate paintings mirror this sense of wonder. Bib.

Reviewer: Thom Barthelmess | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2015

(3) K-3 Illustrated by John Shelley. Young Michelangelo "saw David--his David" inside a huge block of marble that had troubled Florence's artists for decades. The illustrations' cartoonish aspects--a worn-out Michelangelo chipping away; townspeople positioned like a Greek chorus speculating on his progress--complement the lighthearted text, which only turns serious as Sutcliffe describes the completed David's beauty and grandeur. Appended with an informative author's note. Bib.

Reviewer: Betty Carter

(4) K-3 Stella Mae's Linden Square neighbors rarely acknowledge one another. When a big snowstorm transforms their small park, everyone ventures out to build a snow sculpture together and make merry. The loosely sketched watercolor and ink illustrations capture the community diversity, which seems on too much display in the text. The glossary includes musical concepts and literary and cultural references.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty