Georgia's Bones

Although purportedly a biography of the artist Georgia O’Keeffe, I didn’t get a sense from this book for readers 4 and over of who O’Keeffe was or why she was so notable. The illustrations by Bethanne Andersen are lovely but don’t really evoke the desert to me. There is also no Author’s Note or timeline at the end to help readers fill in the blanks missing in the text.

Georgia O’Keeffe is one of the most significant artists of the 20th century, but you’d never know how or why from this book.

This biography is very poetically told, which I found to match the feel of O'Keefe's work. This is an absolutely beautiful story about not only her life's journey but also the things that she was inspired by throughout her life. Makes me want to pick up a paintbrush and look outside.

Jen Bryant takes us on an adventure through the passions of Georgia O'Keeffe, which later develop into a career. Despite being teased for her infatuation with objects of different shapes and sizes, Georgia stayed true to her passions and persevered in her quest become an artist. Her perseverance teaches a great lesson for young readers. The story journeys from her childhood farm, to the skyscrapers of New York, and to the deserts of New Mexico to highlight the areas in which Georgia O’Keeffe’s inspiration as an artist burgeoned from. The illustrations align with Georgia’s free spirit and give the reader insight on her personal and artistic style. However, the story ends quite abruptly. I would have liked to read more about the show more success of her career or browse through a section of real examples of her work. show less

The main idea of this text was to share Georgia O’Keeffe unique fascination with common objects and seeing them in a different perspective than others. I enjoyed this book for two reasons. The first, the illustrations imitated the characteristics of Georgia O’Keeffe. She was famous for her unusual and free spirit. The illustrations all had a movement in the paint strokes and utilized layering of colors to give it more of a natural feeling. For example on the page where Georgia’s mother told her to stop the “silly nonsense”, the artist showed her outside with the wind blowing in her hair. Not only did Georgia’s hair have movement it looked like the grass itself did as well. The second reason I enjoyed this book was that the show more author did utilize words to tell the story as much as she did the illustrations. The book had some words on the pages but they were lost in the illustrations for the most part. The colors and movement of the illustrations could have told the story alone. This is an important aspect of the book, especially on about an artist. show less

Nice intro to biography or art lesson -- space, shape, and color. Good for descriptive writing lesson (use of metaphors). Gorgeous artwork.

This was a beautiful book full of beautiful words and beautiful art. I loved this book. Jen Bryant told this story without overdoing it. Her play with metaphor is outstanding and even though I still regard Georgia Heard as a bit unusual for picking out skulls to paint, I feel like I understand why she did it and I appreciate it. Beautiful book.

Georgia's Bones is the story of the artist Gerogia O'Keefe. The story is simple and looks at how Georgia looked at objects differently, even when she was a young child. She declares she will be an artist and becomes one. The illustrator uses color beautifully to show us her Wisconsin farm, her new home - New York City, and her adventure in New Mexico. The use of the painted background lets you see things like Georgia, the artist. This book is a good read for young readers since they will be engaged with the photos and can easily comprehend the story. Many young children enjoy looking at objects differently than adults so this book shows them there are other people like them.

The book only receives 3.5 stars since we only got a glimpse show more of Georgia O'Keeffe's life and the author did not include a bibliography or notes at the end to allow the reader to learn more about her. show less