Jackson Pollock

Gr. 1-3. This book from the Life and Work series introduces artist Jackson Pollock. Though simplified for the audience (Pollock is described as sad or unhappy rather than depressed), the short text conveys a good deal about Pollock, his paintings, and the changing public perception of his art. Each page has a few sentences of large-print type and one illustration: a black-and-white photo, a color reproduction of one of his paintings, or an occasional illustration portraying an event in the artist's life. The latter pictures, stiff and utilitarian, seem a little out of place next to the photos and paintings, which are excellent representations of the man and his art. The series also features recent books on Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2005 Booklist

Gr 2-4-In condensing the lives and work of these complex artists, Bennett lapses into oversimplification and generalizations. This is particularly true when the author discusses the artists' emotions. "Sometimes Jackson's sadness made him angry." Adult issues of alcoholism, adultery, and womanizing are appropriately omitted; however, using words like "happy" and "unhappy" are often inadequate in describing the feelings of these movement-leading artists. The texts jump from fact to fact, and do not flow smoothly. The time lines give more facts than the narratives. For the most part, the suggestions for further reading are written at a higher grade level. Photographs of the artist and a dozen or so reproductions are included in each book as well as illustrations of scenes from the artist's life; however, the fictional quality of the latter renderings detracts from the factual nature of these titles. The reproductions are identified, but the sketches and photographs are not. Biographies for young readers are in demand; however, these titles should not be high on your list of purchases.-Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.