My Name Is Georgia: A Portrait by Jeanette Winter [Hardcover]

Jeanette Winter (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up | Series: Silver Whistle

From the time she was just a young girl, Georgia O'Keeffe viewed the world in her own way. While other girls played with toys and braided their hair, Georgia practiced her drawing and let her hair fly free. As an adult, Georgia followed her love of art from the steel canyons of New York City to the vast plains of New Mexico. There she painted all day, and slept beneath the stars at night. Throughout her life Georgia O'Keeffe followed her dreams--and so found her way to become a great American artist.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"When I was twelve years old, I knew what I wanted--to be an artist." So begins My Name Is Georgia, Jeanette Winter's lovely picture-book portrait of American artist Georgia O'Keeffe. It is a portrait of a strong-minded young girl who liked to play by herself, dress differently from her sisters, and let her black hair fly when others wore braids. And it is the portrait of an artist who lived to be 98 years old, letting the world see things as she saw them through her remarkable paintings. This small book--with sparse, carefully chosen prose--traces O'Keeffe's life through her schooling in Chicago and New York, and her first trek to Texas: "And I painted the sunset and the sky and the wonderful loneliness and emptiness of the place. I painted day and night." From there she experienced the "canyons of steel" of New York City, "where other artists lived," then it was off to the New Mexico desert. Winter does an exquisite job of reflecting an artist's creative life--how she wanted others to see flowers the way she saw them, how she painted them "BIG, so people would notice." The author's illustrations, perfect squares on white pages with the occasional cloud or bird drifting out of the lines, make this small, powerful tribute shine. (Ages 6 and older) --Karin Snelson

From Publishers Weekly

Winter (illustrator of Diego) takes command of the picture book format to distill the essence of artist Georgia O'Keeffe. In prose as vivid as an O'Keeffe painting, Winter traces the life of this extraordinary woman who dedicated herself from childhood to her craft. The author captures readers' attention from the start by showing the creative seeds planted early on, as young Georgia rides by horse and cart from her Wisconsin farm to town every Saturday "to copy pictures from the stack in the art teachers' cupboard." Winter's poetic text carries readers effortlessly through the painter's years at art school in Chicago and New York ("I walked down in the canyons of steel") to her final home in New Mexico, where her subjects were the bleached bones, vast sky and red desert hills. Winter's compelling portrait depicts an artist whose laser-like focus allowed her to share her unique vision of something as expansive as the sky or as particular as a flower ("I painted it BIG, so people would notice"). Enhanced with selected quotes from O'Keeffe herself, this outstanding biography is easily one of Winter's best efforts to date. Visually, she pays homage to the artist with enough details to suggest the famous flower, skull and sky paintings, but wisely adheres to her own signature style to convey O'Keeffe and her environs. Winter's strength of line and saturated colors are a luscious blend of folk art simplicity and her singular paletteAskyscrapers of purple and plum; black clouds against a baby blue moon; desert hills of salmon pink outlined against lavender skies. A superb and inspiring introduction for children to an exceptional American artist. Ages 6-10.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books (October 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 015201649X
• ISBN-13: 978-0152016494
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #509,141 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For all ages, March 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: My Name Is Georgia: A Portrait by Jeanette Winter (Hardcover)

While the text is simple, the message is suitable for children of all ages. Not just a book for budding artists, but a wonderful book for any child who has contemplated following his or her own dream instead of following the masses. The illustrations are beautiful and the book as a whole is inspiring.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Encouragement for Young Artists, November 29, 1999

By 

Cassandra J. Lems - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Name Is Georgia: A Portrait by Jeanette Winter (Hardcover)

This is a very encouraging book for budding young artists. The illustrations are very nice and the story of Georgia O'Keefe's life is presented in an interesting way. I ordered this as a Christmas gift for my 10-year-old niece, but after reading it I decided to give it to my 7-year-old niece instead. I think the reading level and presentation are more suitable for younger children. A bright 10-year-old would wonder why I gave her "a baby book."

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Suitable for Young Children, February 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: My Name Is Georgia: A Portrait by Jeanette Winter (Hardcover)

My two year old loves this book despite the fact I am sure she doesn't understand all of the text. The pictures are bold and mirror Georgia O'Keefe's style, and each page has no more than two sentences. If I were to buy this as a gift, I would buy it for a child between the ages of 5 and 7.