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Tuesday, March 17, 2015

A Splash of Red The Life and Art of Horace Pippin

Author Jen Bryant and illustrator Melissa Sweet joined forces to create one of the best picture book bios Ive read in a long, long time. All too often picture book bios leave me underwhelmed. They either are skimpy with the facts or too much information is crammed into 36 or so pages. A Splash of Red strikes just the right balance.

Bryant does a superb job of getting at the essence of Horace Pippin, a self-taught artist who, after being wounded during WWI, reinvented himself as a painter. Pippins early love of art, his thrill of winning an art contest as a boy, and his determination not to give up are dramatically told in clean, vigorous prose. Particularly interesting is that nowhere in this bio does Bryant mention that Pippin is a black man. Although obvious from the art, Pippins standing as an determined artist is whats stressed, not his color.

Sweet more than holds up her share of the partnership. Her illustrations mimic Pippins folksy style, yet she brings her own sensibilities to the mix. Sweet includes Pippins quotes into her artwork and she uses a combination of watercolor, gouache, and collage to obtain her effects.

The books back matter includes a historical note that gives a straightforward account of Pippins life. Theres also a list of resources (and a website) for readers whod like more information. Highly recommended.

A Splash of Color: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin
by Jen Bryant
illustrations by Melissa Sweet
Alfred A. Knopf, 40 pages
Published: 2013

A Three Dog Life – September 15 2007

A Three Dog Life Paperback – September 15, 2007

Author: Visit Amazons Abigail Thomas Page | Language: English | ISBN: 0156033232 | Format: PDF, EPUB

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A Three Dog Life – September 15, 2007
You can download A Three Dog Life Paperback – September 15, 2007 from with Mediafire Link Download Link

From Publishers Weekly

Stephen Kings front-cover endorsement of Thomass memoir as the best hes ever read—and a "punch to the heart"—will surely pique interest in this wrenching, elegiac portrait of her third husband, Rich, who flounders in a miasmic present after a hit-and-run in their Manhattan neighborhood shatters his skull, destroys his short-term memory and consigns him to permanent brain trauma. A deft balance of fevered pathos and dark humor link this memoir, in spirit and theme, to Safekeeping, Thomass collected vignettes that memorialize her second husband. But Thomas also finds wellsprings of inspiration in her tragicomic interactions with Rich and in the self-reliance shes forced to develop, aided by her faithful dogs (the books title adapts an aboriginal phrase, derived from the tradition of cuddling with dogs on frigid nights). Rich—himself reminiscent of a Stephen King eccentric—utters eerily prescient, absurdly poetic non sequiturs, probing the essence of time and love with ingenuous intuition, though his acute paranoia and confusion make these exchanges truly heartbreaking. Thomass quick-cutting chronology and confessional narration subtly re-enacts the soupiness of her husbands mind, even as she quietly thanks him for the wisdom of living in the present. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

In these exquisitely written essays Thomas reflects on how her marriage had to be reinvented after the night her husband, Richard, took their dog, Harry, out for a walk, and Harry came home alone. Richard had been hit by a car and was lying bleeding in the street. The traumatic head injury he suffered didnt kill him, as attending police had predicted it would, but it rendered him susceptible to large-scale memory loss, hallucinations, and such wild rages that Thomas was forced to commit him to an institution. Lesser events have destroyed relationships, so it would not be surprising to learn that Thomas abandoned Richard. She didnt. Instead, she sold their New York apartment, moved upstate to be near him, and acquired two more dogs to keep her company. Whats more, she cant imagine life without her husband, saying, "It would be like falling through space with a parachute but no planet to land on." Thomas has elevated what could be, at best, an overemotional sermon or, at worst, a grim romp in self-pity to a high plain of true inspiration. Donna Chavez
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Download latest books on mediafire and other links compilation A Three Dog Life – September 15, 2007

Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Mariner Books; 1 edition (September 15, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0156033232
ISBN-13: 978-0156033237
Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,896 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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