Book Descriptions
for Frida by Jonah Winter and Ana Juan
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Children will be fascinated by life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo as presented in this stunning picture book biography that blends lush, highly charged art evocative of Kahlo’s own work with a spare, understated narrative. Despite its restraint, the text delivers a bounty of information about Kahlo in short, beautifully weighted sentences that convey more than mere fact: “For little Frida, the world is Mexico.” Kahlo was plagued by illness as a child. As a young adult, she was terribly injured in a bus accident. Art began as her diversion from loneliness and pain. It grew into a spiritual, soul-deep need that illustrator Ana Juan has captured in her fanciful, haunted paintings for this striking book. Both playful and frightening, they convey Kahlo’s escape from physical trauma through her incredibly rich life of the mind, which in turn inspired the artwork she created. A brief author’s note provides additional information on Kahlo’s life, such as her marriage to Diego Rivera, to supplement a narrative that focuses on the relationship of this singular artist to her art. (Ages 6-10)
CCBC Choices 2003 . © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2003. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
This long-awaited companion to Jonah Winter's acclaimed DIEGO features the paintings of young Spanish artist, Ana Juan. This stunning picture book is the perfect gift for art enthusiasts of all ages.When her mother was worn out from caring for her five sisters, her father gave her lessons in brushwork and color. When polio kept her bedridden for nine months, drawing saved her from boredom. When a bus accident left her in unimaginable agony, her paintings expressed her pain and depression - and eventually, her joys and her loves. Over and over again, Frida Kahlo turned the challenges of her life into art. Now Jonah Winter and Ana Juan have drawn on both the art and the life to create a playful, insightful tribute to one of the twentieth century's most influential artists. Viva Frida!
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.