- Age Range: 6 – 8 years
- Grade Level: 1 – 3
- Lexile Measure: 870L
- Series: AWARDS: Florida Reading Association Children’s Book Nom. 2010-2011
- Hardcover: 32 pages
- Publisher: P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers (September 18, 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0399242198
- ISBN-13: 978-0399242199
EXCERPT from penguinrandomhouse.com:
A picture book biography of the remarkable folk artist Clementine Hunter.
Can you imagine being an artist who isn’t allowed into your own show? That’s what happened to folk artist Clementine Hunter. Her paintings went from hanging on her clothesline to hanging in museums, yet because of the color of her skin, a friend had to sneak her in when the gallery was closed.
With lyrical writing and striking illustrations, this picture book biography introduces kids to a self-taught artist whose paintings captured scenes of backbreaking work and joyous celebrations of southern farm life. They preserve a part of American history we rarely see and prove that art can help keep the spirit alive.
Notable Acknowledgements: 2010-2011 Florida Reading Association Children’s Book Nominee
Rationale for Inclusion: In keeping with our theme of women empowerment, this book features a woman of color as the protagonist and presents an inspirational story of one woman’s ability to persevere and overcome obstacles such as poverty, sexism, and racism, in order to pursue her dream and lifelong passion of painting. Despite scarce resources and needing to make use of the very limited art materials should could get her hands on, Clementine Hunter managed to become one of the most prolific folk artists of her time and one who will forever be remembered for her talent as well as her courage and resilience in the face of adversity. Another great thing about this book is that it provides a historical context for which children can learn about the racial struggles that African-Americans had to go through in the United States.
Children's Materials: Large Group Bibliography 