cover image What Do You See?

What Do You See?

Kyla Ryman, illus. by Wangechi Mutu. Home Grown (PGW, dist.), $9.95 (20p) ISBN 978-0-9970587-0-3

In this addition to the Mini Museum series, Ryman invites readers to examine a work by Kenyan-born and Brooklyn-based artist Wangechi Mutu. “Le Noble Savage,” a 2006 work of ink and collage, is initially seen in a sequence of details; Ryman points out something she has noticed (“I see a humming bird landing gingerly”) then asks readers what they see. Eventually, the multilayered image is shown in full, a haunting, even disturbing, portrait of a woman with mottled skin holding a palm tree aloft as a snake travels up her arm. It’s imagery that will challenge some adults, let alone toddlers, but also a rewarding introduction to looking closely at art. Up to age 6. (Sept.)