George Bellows: Painter with a Punch! (review)

"Is this strange? An artist here, in a smelly, grungy saloon? Shouldn't an artist search for beautiful things to paint?" Fortunately for middle-grade children being nudged toward biography reading, early twentieth-century painter George Bellows looked for inspiration in just the kinds of ordinary, even seedy, places kids might want to tag along to, and Burleigh is an enthusiastic and adept tour guide through Bellows's New York milieu. Crisp reproductions coordinate closely with the text, so readers will easily connect the "bright-eyed, confident, cocky children [Bellows] passes along the way" with the image of "Frankie, the Organ Boy" or to understand that the "Blue Morning" painting of workers on the new Pennsylvania Station demonstrated how "like all New Yorkers, George is fascinated by the many construction sites, which are busy day and night." Present-tense narration ushers children briskly through the text with a pacing they are more accustomed to find in fiction; generous font and leading size enhances accessibility. Children reluctant to look much farther afield than Mike Venezia's Getting to Know series for art history should be delighted with this field trip, which is bound to take them places their genteel teachers probably never will. Source notes, bibliography, index, illustration credits, and a state-by-state list of museums displaying Bellows' work are included.