Starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and more!
Celebrate the life of artist, nun, and activist Corita Kent. When Frances Elizabeth Kent first receives art lessons as a sixth grader, she becomes, in Burgess' poetic telling, 'a bird in the breeze of her brush'; the phrase is repeated with powerful effect in the final spread of this compelling picture-book biography. As an adult, Frances joins the Order of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, becoming Sister Mary Corita. The book chronicles her years of teaching, during which she coins the portmanteau plork when 'play and work are one'; her training in silk-screening; and her transformation of the art department of Immaculate Heart College into a 'lively center of art and design.' With art that encourages seeing 'the sacred in the everyday' and her passion for speaking out against social injustices and war, Corita makes waves and angers the archbishop. After release from her vows, she moves to Boston to continue to make art. The text shines with a deeply felt reverence for Corita's work and makes explicit her influence as a teacher, artist, and activist. Design choices, including a double gatefold in the book's center and a surprise cover beneath the dust jacket, emphasize Corita's inspired mission. The lively, brightly colored illustrations feature occasional photo collage elements and incorporate a vivid blue bird as a symbol of Corita and her artistic spirit. Detailed backmatter fleshes out Corita's life and accomplishments. Delightful. Plork! -STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus
Pop icon Corita Kent stars in this gorgeous picture book and if you've never heard of her, after reading it, you'll immediately head to the Corita Art Center's website to see more of her work. Burgess and Kramer work together seamlessly to tell us about Kent's childhood, her inspirations, her religious vocation, her place in the Pop Art movement, and her activism. This is a complex story, but Burgess's text, related with a clean, typewriter font, gives the perfect amount of information. I loved the focus on small moments and their influence on her art. Big questions that might concern adults (why did she become a nun? What is a nun, anyway? Why did she leave the Church?) are introduced with matter-of-fact language and left at that. Kramer has succeeded where so many other art biography illustrators fail; her work perfectly captures the playfulness, vibrancy, and deepness of Kent's work but does not compete with it. The book is quite large, and Kramer takes advantage of that to create a giant double-hinged picture of Corita's students using cardboard finders to re-envision ordinary objects. The pages swing open to reveal students peering at grocery shelves, including the famous Del Monte tomato cans that figure in the book's title. -STARRED REVIEW, Susan Harari (Boston Latin School) for Youth Services Book Review
Burgess's captivating picture book biography of Sister Corita Kent (1918-1986) tells the story of a person and an artist always in a state of becoming: 'Nothing is a mistake. There's no win and no fail. There's only make.' From her working-class California childhood to her vocation as a nun, her introduction to screen printing through Maria Sodi de Ramos Martinez, and her interest in marketing messaging and material culture, Burgess shows how Kent's art grew out of her life and time: 'For Corita, art and activism and protest and celebration were connected.' Throughout, Kramer's illustration style shifts, subtly mirroring Kent's evolution as an artist by layering in signature motifs from her art-block-print letters, collage-like composition, screen print textures, and bright color-that reveal Kent's awareness of the world around her. It's a thoughtfully rendered introduction to an endlessly inspiring artist. Back matter includes a timeline and creators' notes. -STARRED REVIEW, Publishers Weekly
Sister Corita Kent gained international renown for her bold, pop-art silkscreen prints, and this captivating picture-book biography traces both her life and the development of her distinctive style. After showing promise as a young artist, Kent surprised everyone by becoming a nun, but it was as a teacher with her order that she not only learned her signature method but learned the importance of play and exploration, which became fundamental to both her teaching and her art. Kramer's illustrations do an excellent job of evoking Kent's style, with bright colors, blocky shapes, and text included in just about every spread, which incorporate some of Kent's classroom rules, like 'consider everything an experiment.' Burgess' text tidily links Kent's art to her work as a teacher, her religious beliefs, her powerful sense of justice, and her unguarded way of noticing beauty in the everyday, and the result is an affectionate, approachable portrait of an important artist (bolstered by helpful back matter with additional context about Kent). There aren't many books about Kent for a young audience, but her art-and approach to making it-is uncommonly kid-friendly, and this joyful volume will not only introduce her to children but encourage creative exploration and play. -STARRED REVIEW, Booklist
In the forthcoming picture book Make Meatballs Sing: The Life and Art of Corita Kent, Matthew Burgess tells the story of a Roman Catholic nun who, if not well-known today, was sufficiently famous in 1967 to make the cover of Newsweek. Kara Kramer's buoyant illustrations evoke scenes from the life of the girl born Frances Elizabeth Kent in 1918. We see her artistic awakening in sixth grade, her entry into religious life, and the development of her talents as a teacher and maker of graphic Pop Art images... In such works, Mr. Burgess writes, 'Corita invited others to see the sacred in the everyday.' The book treads lightly over the churning politics of the time, so 6- to 11-year-olds may be a little mystified as to why Sister Corita felt the displeasure of her archbishop or why, in the end, she left religious life. What they will get, however, is a sense of wonderful expansiveness from this large book that radiates electric colors. - Wall Street Journal
While Kent may not be a household name, many of us have seen her work on the iconic [rainbow] postage stamp. This picture book embraces her unusual life, celebrating the decisions she made, the art she created and her voice for social change. The book cleverly pulls out elements of how Kent taught and created her art, offering unique perspectives gained by seeing the world in a fresh way. The writing here is engaging and offers a tone of delight as Kent continues to surprise and amaze. The bright and vibrant art in the book shares elements of Kent's own work. Her play with lettering and words appear throughout the illustrations of the book, filling tree trunks, coloring margins, and as posters on the walls. The entire book is a delight of collage, typography and riotous color. A positive and affirming look at an artist who should be better known. - Waking Brain Cells
