Reviews

The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats by Claudia J. Nahson, Emily Casden, Maurice Berger

idontkaren's review

4.0

I haven't seen the exhibit yet, but this seems like a great companion/introduction to it. The first essay by Claudio Nahson is especially strong and insightful--she honed in on not only the way Keats focused on African-American and poor children, but also on his ability to speak to any kid that feels invisible, unwanted, or alone. She uses relevant examples from several of his books. The most affecting for me was "Louie," which by all bookseller descriptions/Amazon reviews makes it sound like a trite feel good book, when it is in fact really sad and upsetting (making the ending even more compassionate). She includes a lot of background about his upbringing, (which was new to me) and how that may have influenced the storylines and art. The second essay is more slight. The book has a lot of Keats's art and is designed nicely. I also really appreciated the timeline at the end of the book--it contained just the right amount of information.