Two Artists, Grandad and Me

Pinkney Barlow (Little Rosetta and the Talking Guitar) pays homage to her late grandfather, illustrator Jerry Pinkney (1939–2021) in a heartwarming reflection about artmaking’s improvisational process. As the young protagonist visits Grandad’s art studio, first-person text sets the scene: “the trill, cheep, chirp of birdsong drifts through the open window,/ mixing with the bop, tap, clap of Grandad’s jazz.” Further lines describe a space featuring paper “covered in scratchy pencil marks,” a pile of stories made by Grandad, and the man’s own “sunshine smile.” As “snappy trumpet floods the warm studio,” the two work side by side, and the sounds of bass and saxophone build to a moving moment when the child’s “I don’t think I did it right” prompts a reassurance that affirms their path as an artist: “There is no right way.... Every artist sees the world differently.” Multimedia artwork incorporates purple-outlined characters interacting with art supplies (on one spread, the protagonists dance across a watercolor tray) and hand-painted paper-cuts that conjure Pinkney’s creations and studio. It’s a portrait of “two artists” at work that takes young creators seriously. An author’s note concludes. Ages 3–7. Agent: Shadra Strickland and Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (Jan.)