From School Library Journal
Gr 2–5—A brief glimpse into the early life and first artistic stirrings of a great American artist. In the Author's Note, Fleming explains that Joseph Cornell, known for his found art and collage shadow boxes, began collecting objects and ephemera as a young child—and never stopped. For Cornell, the emotional resonance and meaning behind his arrangement of odd and ends was most apparent to children, who could more easily tap into their imaginative powers. Indeed, Fleming includes this quote from the artist in her note: "The question is not what you look at, but what you see." The book, however, does not spend much time looking at his boxes or concerning itself with Cornell's artistic career as an adult, focusing instead on his childhood collecting and the lead up to his first art show: in his family's barn in Nyack, NY, as a young teen. Dubois's acrylic artwork, with its layers of paint and woodlike textures, somewhat recalls the weathered paint style seen in many of Cornell's boxes, and there is loving attention paid to the detailed depiction of Cornell's tiny treasures, but his figures often have a mannequin-like flatness. Fleming's language alternates between the straightforward and the lyrical ("That same year, his father brought home two tickets to see… HARRY HOUDINI!/Tied with chains./Locked in an iron box./Joey sat spellbound."). This will likely resonate with young collectors and aspiring artists, though Jeanette Winter's Mr. Cornell's Dream Boxes does a better job explaining and exploring Cornell's unique style and connection to young people. VERDICT An attractive but brief, and thereby somewhat unsatisfying, depiction of Cornell's early life. Interested young artists will want to supplement this with further reading or internet searches for images of Cornell's work.—Kiera Parrott, School Library Journal
About the Author
Candace Fleming is the prolific author of The Family Romanov, a Sibert Honor Book and the recipient of both the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Young Adult Literature; Amelia Lost, which received four starred reviews; and The Great and Only Barnum, a YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction nominee and a Publishers Weekly and Booklist Best Book. She is also the author of many highly acclaimed picture books, including Oh, No!, illustrated by Eric Rohmann, and middle grade, including The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary School. Visit her on the web at candacefleming.com or on Twitter: @candacemfleming.
Gérard DuBois is the illustrator of the children's book Monsieur Marceau: Actor Without Words by Leda Schubert, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2012. He also illustrates for clients such as Time magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The New Yorker. Born in France, he moved to Montreal, Canada where he lives with his wife and children. Visit him on the web at gdubois.com.
