Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Georgia Rises: A Day in the life of Georgia O'Keeffe
Illustrator: Ora Eitan
Picture Book
For ages 10 and up
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009 ISBN: 0374325294
Georgia wakes up when it is still dark outside. Quickly she does her hair, drinks some hot tea, and tends to her dogs. She stretches her stiff back several times, getting the cricks out. Then she walks out into the desert with her paints, a canvas, and her other tools.
In the desert, Georgia finds a bleached bone. She sets this on a rock and soon, in the pale light of the lavender colored sky, she paints.
As she makes her way home, Georgia sees a black raven against the lightening sky, she picks up a rock and a piece of wood. As she paints in her home throughout the day, the image of the raven and hills, and the shapes of the rock and the piece wood stay with Georgia, inspiring her to explore ideas in her head and in paint.
In this lusciously lyrical book, Kathryn Lasky gives readers a picture of what it would have been like to follow in Georgia O’ Keeffe’s footsteps. Lasky used O’Keeffe’s writings to gather material for her story, and at the back of the book she provides her readers with an excellent biography of the artist. In addition, she includes an author’s note in which she explains her work process and her goals for the book.
