A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin

Gr 3-6—Born in 1888, grandson of a slave, Pippin loved to draw from an early age. He painted "...every day scenes in natural colors; then he added a splash of red." His classmates often begged, "Make a picture for us, Horace!" When he was in the eighth grade, he quit school and went to work. From rail yard to farm to hotel to factory, his workmates echoed the request, "Make a picture for us...." And when he enlisted in World War I, his fellow soldiers also entreated him to draw. "The war brought out all the art in me." But a bullet to the shoulder rendered his right arm useless and he was unable to find work due to his injury. Still, his drive to draw remained. One day, "using his good arm to move the hurt one, he scorched lines into the wood" to create a picture. With practice, his weak arm improved enough to allow him to paint, and paint he did. N.C. Wyeth recognized his talent and arranged for him to have a one-man exhibit. Today his work hangs in museums all over the country. Bryant's meticulously researched, eloquent text makes this a winning read-aloud, while Sweet's vibrant, folksy illustrations, rendered in watercolor, gouache, and mixed media, portray the joys and hardships of the man's life, using his trademark palette...with just a splash of red. Quotations from his notebooks, letters, and interviews are effectively woven into the pictures.—Barbara Auerbach, PS 217, Brooklyn, NY

The team behind the Caldecott Honor book A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams returns with a rewarding picture-book biography of self-taught African-American artist Horace Pippin. As a child, Pippin drew pictures at every opportunity, but his family's economic struggles eventually necessitated that he use his "big hands" in many other roles, including "stacking grain sacks at a feed store, shoveling coal at a rail yard," and later serving in WWI. Despite a war injury to his right arm, Pippin adapted in order to continue drawing and painting, eventually leading to recognition and fame in the art world. Sweet's naif mixed-media collages blend thick, solid color blocks with motifs mined from Pippin's vibrant compositions, which range from war scenes to that of children at play. Quotations from Pippin about the psychological scars of war and his artistic process are hand-drawn into Sweet's images, underscoring how art was not only a joyful outlet for Pippin, but also a vital means of interpreting the world. Ages 5-8. Author's agent: Alyssa Eisner Henkin, Trident Media Group. (Jan.)