My Little Artist

Grade 2-5-Lovely, light-filled naturalistic paintings are the highlight of this quixotic story. The little girl longs to be an artist like her grandmother, who tells her that she will have to first find her "heartsight." Defined in rather vague terms, this abstract attribute seems to be enhanced by sensory experiences and a love of nature. The youngster and the woman observe birds, butterflies, peas growing on the vine, raspberries, tadpoles, and how the light interacts with these elements of nature. The two then create art together while Grandma shares her unique blend of life wisdom and creative insight. After the girl draws a picture of an angel that incorporates several keen observations, Grandma exclaims that she has "found her heartsight!" The story ends with the now-grown girl holding her first published book and fondly remembering her grandmother's inspiration. However, the narrative suffers from the confusing shifts from the present to the past. The use of varied typefaces to demarcate transitions in the story also detracts from the book's effectiveness. The illustrations far outshine the text in this mixed effort from a talented artist.
Rosalyn Pierini, San Luis Obispo City-County Library, CA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Illustrator Green (To My Daughter, with Love) makes her debut as a writer with an unabashedly sentimental tale centering on a girl and her artist grandmother. As impressionistic as her paintings, Green's somewhat confusing narrative intersperses snippets of dialogue between the girl and Grandma with italicized, imagery-filled memories. In response to the child's question, "Grandma, how do I become an artist?" the woman repeatedly emphasizes the importance of "heartsight." Not all readers will grasp the sometimes abstract concepts Grandma uses to convey the meaning of "heartsight" ("Close your eyes and imagine the light as it dances through the [tree] branches and onto your face. What makes them move in your mind? Can you feel the birds flying? Can you smell the sunlight as it falls to earth?"). Yet the love between these two characters radiates perceptively from Green's emotive artwork as well as from her earnest prose ("When I drop my paint onto the wet paper it explodes just like my heart does for you," says Grandma as she paints). Ages 4-8. (Nov.) FYI: Donna Green was the subject of a recent PW feature (Children's Books, Nov. 22).
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.