By Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara and Illustrated by Luciano Lozano
“Jean-Michel was a talented boy from Brooklyn,”
If you’ve been around here for a while, you know how much we love biographies for kids! I’m always on the lookout for things that tie in to art and art history too, as Miss 10 is an artist. So when the Little People, Big Dreams biography of Jean-Michel Basquiat popped up in my Instagram feed, I just knew we had to get it!
The book starts with Jean-Michel as a four year old, drawing and visiting museums, and shows us his very early influences, before taking us through his rise to fame – from his early days producing graffiti on buildings in Manhattan, to his meeting and befriending Andy Warhol, and them becoming “the craziest pair” on the art scene! His unfortunate death is not mentioned (good for more sensitive little readers), instead the book focuses on how prolific he was during his career, creating not only art and graffiti, but also music and poetry, and how he inspired many others.
The book’s illustrations are beautiful and engaging, full of colour and life – as one would expect for the subject at hand! And as with most biographies for kids, there is a double page spread at the back, with photos of Jean-Michel, and a slightly more in-depth version of his life. It’s suitable for a wide range of ages – even though I bought the book with Miss10 in mind, Mr6 loves it too! There is also a lovely ethos spread throughout the book of using your talents, and showing the world your unique point of view – a fab message for kids! We highly recommend it!
Jean Michel Basquiat – Little People, Big Dreams can be bought at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com
A Different Way To Go 