Skip to main content
Displaying 1 of 1
Availability
Annotations

"The bold story of Maya Lin, the artist-architect who designed the Vietnam War Memorial"-- - (Baker & Taylor)

Presents the life story of the iconic artist and architect who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. - (Baker & Taylor)

An introduction to the life and achievements of the artist-architect who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial describes the creative childhood explorations that inspired her career and how she learned to think artistically with her hands as well as her mind while performing unique experiments with light and lines. - (Baker & Taylor)

The bold story of Maya Lin, the visionary artist-architect who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

You may be familiar with the iconic Vietnam Veterans Memorial. But do you know about the artist-architect who created this landmark?

As a child, Maya Lin loved to study the spaces around her. She explored the forest in her backyard, observing woodland creatures, and used her house as a model to build tiny towns out of paper and scraps. The daughter of a clay artist and a poet, Maya grew up with art and learned to think with her hands as well as her mind. From her first experiments with light and lines to the height of her success nationwide, this is the story of an inspiring American artist: the visionary artist-architect who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

A Christy Ottaviano Book

- (McMillan Palgrave)

Author Biography

Jeanne Walker Harvey studied literature and psychology at Stanford University and has had many jobs, ranging from being a roller coaster ride operator to an attorney and, most recently a middle school teacher of Language Arts and writing workshops. She is the author of several books for young readers, including My Hands Sing the Blues: Romare Bearden's Childhood Journey. She lives in California.

Dow Phumiruk is a general pediatrician with a passion for art. She lives in Colorado with her husband and three girls. When she is not teaching medical students or drawing, she can be found hiking on the trails near her home. Maya Lin is her picture book debut.

- (McMillan Palgrave)

Large Cover Image
Trade Reviews

Booklist Reviews

In 1981, judges selected Maya Lin's design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial from 1,421 entries. A senior at Yale University, Lin was just 21. In this introduction to the influential American designer, Harvey portrays Lin's early inspirations, from the forests and hills of her Ohio hometown and the progressive professions of her parents (her poet mother and clay-artist father, both Chinese immigrants, "never told Maya what to be or how to think") to "the patterns of light and lines" in buildings at Yale and abroad. The book also emphasizes Lin's artistic process, revealing the impetus—a reflective sliver in the earth's surface—for what would be her first (of many) major works of art, and the mashed potato models, sketches, and backlash that accompanied it. All the while, the clean lines in Phumiruk's deliberately sparse, light-infused spreads and the placement of slender, pillarlike passages of text reinforce the breathtaking beauty of Lin's sleek landmark. With a closing author's note detailing Lin's motivations for projects past and present, this is an artful resource for dreamers of all ages. Copyright 2017 Booklist Reviews.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Harvey (My Hands Sing the Blues) and debut illustrator Phumiruk recount the career of architect Maya Lin, using a textual and visual sparseness that echoes Lin's minimalist style. Harvey introduces Lin as an observant child with an eye for form, structure, and the interplay of light. While in college, Lin entered the Vietnam Memorial design contest, which required including the names of almost 58,000 dead or missing soldiers: "These rules rang true to Maya. She knew the power of names." Harvey provides just enough biographical details to give a sense of Lin's life, including touching on the initial backlash against her design for the memorial, while Phumiruk's muted artwork, assembled digitally, makes good use of watercolor and corrugated textures to evoke the inspiration Lin drew from nature. Ages 4–8. Agent:Deborah Warren, East West Literary. (May)

Copyright 2017 Publisher Weekly.

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 1–3—So often do we admire and revere our national monuments without giving much thought to those who conceptualized and created them. This quietly inspiring title offers a biographical sketch of Maya Lin, the designer and architect behind Washington's Vietnam Veterans Memorial, completed in 1982. Although the text does not delve deeply into all of the specifics of Lin's life, it imparts basic information about her childhood interest in art and architecture, describes her college studies to strengthen these skills, and explains how as a senior in college she entered a contest and came to create an iconic and poignant monument. Also addressed are the controversies that came with Lin being selected for this project, the opposition she faced, and the way she bravely stood her ground and championed her design and the reasoning behind it. The simple yet lyrical narrative flows effortlessly and will not overwhelm young readers. Lin's story encourages the study of art, architecture, and engineering, making it an ideal choice to pair with STEAM-related activities. The soft color palette of the digital illustrations (made with scans of watercolors and textures) provides a complementary backdrop to the words, and Phumiruk ably conveys Lin's determination. VERDICT While this book is not comprehensive, it contextualizes the topic and presents an optimal opportunity to spark conversations on art and war. A fine pick for any public or school library collection.—Rita Meade, Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal.

Librarian's View
Displaying 1 of 1