A lot of us bloggers know Jone MacCulloch as one of the intrepid organizers of this year's Kidlitosphere Conference in Portland, but her hard work doesn't end there–she's also a member of our Non-Fiction Picture Books panel for the Cybils. As a library media specialist at an elementary school in Washington State, Jone gets to encounter books every day, and she blogs about them at Check It Out.
She recently reviewed a book that's rather fitting for this week's Veteran's Day holiday–The Art of Freedom: How Artists See America by Bob Raczka. That fabulous and colorful Jasper Johns cover painting alone is enough to draw me in, but it's the thoughtful pairing of simple text ("America is…") with works of art from both legendary artists and lesser-known ones that will truly provoke interesting discussions:
In the world of school, where much focus is on state assessments and students starved for art….Raczka has selected paintings, photographs, and sculptures depicting many views of America to share with kids of all ages.
Read the full review here.