Description
Book SynopsisA 2021 Rainbow Book List selection
A New York Public Library Best Book for Kids of 2020
A Washington Post Best Children's Book of 2020
A Kirkus Best Picture-Book Biography of 2020
A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Pick of 2020
A 2021 Capitol Choices Noteworthy Book for Children
2020 Eureka! Nonfiction Children’s Book Gold Award
A 2022 Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List selection
I would love to be a teacher because I love children and I think that not enough people respect children or understand how important they are. I have done many projects with children of all ages. —Keith Haring
Truly devoted to the idea of public art, Haring created murals wherever he went.
From Matthew Burgess, the much-acclaimed author of Enormous Smallness, comes Drawing on Walls: A Story of Keith Haring. Often seen drawing in white chalk on the matte black paper of unused advertising space in the subway, Haring’s iconic pop art and graffiti-like style transformed the New York City underground in the 1980s. A member of the LGBTQ community, Haring died tragically at the age of thirty-one from AIDS-related complications. Illustrated in paint by Josh Cochran, himself a specialist in bright, dense, conceptual drawings, this honest, celebratory book honors Haring’s life and art, along with his very special connection with kids.
Trade Review"Thirty years after Keith Haring’s death of AIDS-related complications, this vibrant picture book brings the iconic pop artist’s work and story to the hearts of a new generation. Often featuring a bold black line, Cochran’s painterly illustrations drive the narrative—bursting with movement and color—utilizing a wide variety of perspectives and both spot and full-bleed illustrations to dance around the text in a suitably neo-expressionist tribute to the subject. Stylized and simplified figures fill the pages with smiling faces in a broad spectrum of skin tones and body types, opening the door on Haring’s passionately held belief that “Art is for everybody.” Without erasing or dwelling on any particular aspect of Haring’s personal life, author Burgess outlines Haring’s relationships with art, with children, and with his partner, Juan DuBose, in straightforward, accessible language—from his childhood in Pennsylvania to his “final mark” in Pisa, Italy (five months before his death)—with the same bold honesty and vibrance visible in his subject’s art career. Biographical, author’s, and illustrator’s notes back up the book, supplementing the broad strokes of the text with finer detail and more individual perspectives on Haring’s personal, political, and artistic legacies. An inspired, and inspiring, continuation of Haring’s intention." —Kirkus
