Mr. Cornell's Dream Boxes

Winter follows her picture-book biographies of artists including Matisse, O'Keeffe, and Rivera with a look at reclusive artist Joseph Cornell, who made glass-fronted wooden boxes filled with delicate, surreal collections of objects--star charts, cutouts of parrots and ballerinas, marbles in wineglasses--all crafted in the cellar of his home on the marvelously named Utopia Parkway. "He saw only dreams and memories, and he filled his boxes with them." Winter connects specific memories from Cornell's life with the creations they grew into, showing each memory in a cloud of periwinkle blue on left-hand pages ("Mr. Cornell remembered blowing soap bubbles") opposite the box it inspired (a pipe emitting what look like white seashells). While Winter's lyrical prose is true to the gentle strangeness of Cornell's work, the digital artwork, done in the style of flat tempera painting, doesn't convey the fine detail of the boxes, and no photographs of them are included. An afterword supplies more information (Cornell arranged his last exhibition for children, hanging the boxes low for them to see), but the few photos there focus on the viewers, not the work. Ages 4-8. Agent: Susan Cohen, Writers House. (Aug.)

K-Gr 3--Finally, a children's picture book about the artist Joseph Cornell. And for someone whose work was so connected to childhood, memory, and dreams, it's about time. For much of the 20th century, Cornell made shadow boxes intricately filled with a flotsam of ephemera and found objects. While his work was exhibited at the premiere galleries in New York City, Cornell went out of his way to connect with a younger audience, sometimes even giving shadow boxes to neighborhood children, who would return the "toys" in exchange for others when they were done playing with them. Winter's playful and collagelike illustrations re-create many of his well-known works in a style that complements Cornell's own aesthetic. Succinct text details his life in Queens, NY, and the recurring themes of his art. While concepts and theories about art and artists can often be difficult to present to young children, this picture-book biography is particularly accessible and can serve as an ideal gateway to more advanced books on the subject. Teachers and librarians can use this work to explore a unique contribution at the forefront of modern art; children will be inspired to dream and create on their own.--Billy Parrott, New York Public Library