Image: Candlewick Press
Fact Friday features Flying Paintings: the Zhou Brothers: a story of revolution and art by Amy Alzauer. Illustrated by Shan Zuo Zhou & DaHuang Zhou. Two boys were born several year apart "in the back of a bookstory on the highest hill in Wuming, China." Shaoli arrived first, followed several years later by Shaoning. They were raised by their grandmother, Po Po after their parents were imprisoned. Eventually, the book store was closed because "the new People's Republic of China did not appreciate the high spirits of people who ran their own stores or made their own art."
This gorgeously illustrated picture book biography, illustrated by the subjects themselves is immersive. The text is poetic, spare and impressionistic, prompting curiosity in the reader to learn more. The creamy pages have heft. Back matter consists of a helpful author's note and photo of the brothers. A photo of the brothers at work on one of their pieces gives the reader a sense of scale. There were no suggestions for further reading.
This lovely book lends itself to many uses in the classroom from social studies, to art to language arts.
This book is lovely indeed. Sounds interesting. I'll read it asap.
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