In Search Of The Spirit

Describes the creations of some of Japan’s Living National Treasures, artists who are involved in various Japanese arts, including Yuzen dyeing, bamboo basket weaving, Bunraku puppetmaking, swordmaking, Noh theater, and neriage ceramics.

Meet the Artist! Alexander Calder

A sense of playfulness animates all of Calder’s work, from his signature hanging mobiles to his endlessly creative toys, drawings, and jewelry. Alexander Calder: Meet the Artist! is a hands on introduction to this American sculptor.

Randolph Caldecott

Leonard S Marcus, a distinguished historian of children’s literature, presents a short biography of Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886), illustrated with a great collection of his work, including many previously unpublished drawings. From doodling in the margins of his schoolbooks to his tragically early death, the book traces the career of the ‘man who invented the modern picture book’ and whose dynamic visual storytelling was to influence later illustrators, notably Beatrix Potter and Maurice Sendak.

The Vine Basket

Life has been hard for fourteen-year-old Mehrigul, a member of the Uyghur tribal group scorned by the Chinese communist regime, so when an American offers to buy all the baskets she can make in three weeks, Mehrigul strives for a better future for herself and her family despite her father’s opposition.

Riese

Riese has never been happy as a princess; she’d much rather be hunting or fighting than sitting through another lesson on court etiquette. When she meets Micah, a wandering artist with a mysterious past, she pretends to be a peasant–it’s a chance to be just a normal girl with a normal boy for a while. But with war decimating her once-proud nation and the sinister clockwork Sect infiltrating her mother’s court, Riese’s moments with Micah are the only islands of sanity left in a world gone mad. As her kingdom falls and the Sect grows ever stronger, will Riese remain true to her duty as a princess…or risk everything on a boy she barely knows?

Colorful Dreamer

An inspiring portrait of one of the world’s most loved artists. There was once a boy named Henri, whose dreams were full of color even though his hometown was dreary and gray. His parents expected him to learn a trade when he grew up, but being a law clerk bored him, and he continued to dream of a colorful, exciting life, and of being noticed. Then Henri started painting and kept painting and dreaming and working at his craft until he’d become one of the most admired and famous artists in the world. This lyrical, visually rich picture book is more than an excellent biography; at its core, this remarkable book is an encouragement to never give up on your dreams.