World of Glass
The Art of Dale Chihuly
by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan
Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2020. 60 pages.
Review written July 13, 2020, from a library book
World of Glass is a biography of artist Dale Chihuly, who works in glass. It’s longer than a picture book biography, but has large square pages that fit large photographs of the artist’s work on almost every page, making the book suitable for upper elementary through middle school.
I was interested in this artist because on the afternoon after the 2019 Newbery committee had made our choice and delivered our press release to the ALA office, but hadn’t announced our choice to the world yet, I was left to my own devices in Seattle. I rode the monorail to the Space Needle, as I could vaguely remember doing as a little girl. But at the grounds of the Space Needle, unlike when I was a little girl, I found the Chihuly Garden and Glass, where the glass sculptures of Dale Chihuly are featured. I spent a couple of hours browsing and was enchanted.
This book filled in details for me of the artist’s work. Even reading it more than a year after I saw the gallery, I now understand better what was being accomplished with the various forms made in glass. The book explains how he got his start and tells about various series of art pieces he has made.
Until I saw that museum, when I thought of an artist, I would never have thought of glass blowing. This book may expand kids’ ideas about art as well.
Dale has said that in order to get better at glassblowing, an aspiring artist must do it over and over again. “You’re making something that’s never been made before. It’s an ancient craft that someone invented two thousand years ago. Can you imagine blowing human breath down a blowpipe and getting a bubble and then heating it up in fire, using a couple of little tools and then making forms you can’t touch? All you have to do is blow glass once and you want to become a glassblower.
JanGreenburgSandraJordan.com
abramsyoungreaders.com
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Source: This review is based on a book from Fairfax County Public Library.
Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.
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