Review by Booklist Review
The ingenuity of artists and the application of the scientific method (without using that term) to art are highlighted in this cheerful chronicle of a partnership that developed an iconic chair and other useful, beautiful items. The Eames chair, named for married couple Charles and Ray Eames, arose from a lengthy trial-and-error process. "Charles was an architect. He liked structure and transforming things . . . Ray was a painter. She liked color and shape," and together they liked solving problems. To make comfortable splints for injured soldiers, for example, Charles invented a plywood-bending machine, and then the couple used it to meet another need: that for comfortable chairs. They failed many times before they hit on just the right formula, combining artistry and doggedness to delight themselves and make design history. Mid-century modern style is brought to colorful life in the blocky, bold illustrations of Charles and Ray and their work. Covering an art style seldom found in books for this age group, award-winning Yang's latest will be a welcome addition where art and design books are popular.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Yang draws subjects Charles (1907--1978) and Ray Eames (1912--1988), titans of modern design, as intensely observant, doll-like figures, while also capturing the sense of problem-solving that drove their creativity. After noting an early success designing splints for soldiers out of bent plywood, the bulk of the book is devoted to the duo's creating a chair "that looks like it was born to be a chair." Though the "impossible puzzle" of a process, the couple eventually realizes that their work on the splint can be applied to making what would be called "the best chair of the twentieth century." Young readers may not have the context to recognize how beautifully Yang tips his hat to mid-century-modern design, but they will come away with a sense of how exhilarating it can be to make something new--and with whetted appetites for discovering more. An author's note concludes. Ages 4--8. (May)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A tribute to the playful, creative husband-and-wife team who, as icons of midcentury modern design, brought us tiny tables and bent plywood chairs. Rather than lay out specific biographical details, Yang focuses on the overall approach and sensibility that architect Charles Eames and painter Ray Eames brought to their artistic careers. Charles liked to work with structures; Ray was sensitive to color and shape. Together, Yang writes, "they made a perfect team." They were "always looking for a problem to solve." "Is there a way to make hanging up your clothes fun?" "Why do tables have to be big?" "How can we make toys both kids and adults will love?" Many of their designs are still manufactured, but the formfitting modern chair (which will probably always be their best-known work) gets pride of place as the product of a long process of trial and error that suggests how much hard work goes into the seemingly simple design of common objects. Incorporating colors and forms associated with their work, Yang depicts the couple as hands-on sorts, fiddling with wire, balls, and blocks in bright, airy workspaces or, in one scene, lying flat on the floor to appreciate a painting suspended from the ceiling. Readers may come away with an inkling of the Eameses' artistic methods but will need to look elsewhere for more than a handful of actual examples of their creations. Evocative, though light on factual detail. (author's note) (Informational picture book. 6-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
