100 Pablo Picassos

Pablo Picasso appears 100 times in this vivid introduction to the artist. The brisk text and Lemay's gently humorous images hopscotch across details of Picasso's professional and personal life, showing the artist creating pieces like Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, morphing into images from his work, conversing with individuals like Gertrude Stein and Henri Matisse, playfully engaging with pets, and more. Picasso's joie de vivre and creative outpouring come across vibrantly, while glimpses of his periods of turmoil ("Sometimes Picasso was sad. He painted many pictures with the color blue") and relationships ("The artist had many girlfriends and wives. Picasso was always in love") hint at the artist's complexity. Ages 5-10. (May)

Gr 1-3—Readers will appreciate this concise introduction to Pablo Picasso. Each brief snippet about the artist's life is paired with a finely rendered, Picasso-esque cartoon illustration. A gentle sense of humor runs through these images, which also serve to personalize the man, from the cover, in which he walks with his pet dog Lump, to an illustration depicting him painting while in the bath. Each image of the artist (including self-portraits) is numbered, and by the end, children will discover that indeed, true to the book's title, there are 100 Picassos. A short summary of Picasso's life is appended, along with art citations for the works depicted. However, there is no index, making this selection more appropriate as a draw to entice young readers than as a source for research. Pair with Jonah Winter's humorous and vibrantly illustrated Just Behave, Pablo Picasso! (Scholastic, 2012). VERDICT This uniquely designed and well-thought out effort will find an audience among young art lovers.—Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI