68 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ AUGUST 5, 2019
Review_CHILDREN’S
Finding Narnia:
The Story of C.S. Lewis and His Brother
Caroline McAlister, illus. by Jessica Lanan. Roaring Brook, $19.99
(48p) ISBN 978-1-62672-658-1
While young C.S. Lewis (“Jack”) “preferred to look through
the window of his imagination,” his beloved older brother
Warnie is fascinated by the shipyard he views from the window
of their Belfast home. When the siblings discover an old ward-
robe in the house, Jack crawls inside, pondering the possibility
that it “had no end.” Their mother’s terminal illness prompts
the boys to escape their “sad house” by creating an imaginary
world that eventually—after both serve in WWI and move on
to Oxford (Jack) and the army (Warnie)—inspires the
Chronicles of Narnia. Lanan’s expressive, soft-focused art is
meticulously in step with McAlister’s lyrical narrative, as
both move from the often-harsh real world to the mystical realm
of Narnia. Concluding notes from author and illustrator provide
beguiling background bits—notably about one fortuitously
inspiring wooden wardrobe. Ages 4–8. (Nov.)Born to Draw Comics: The Story of
Charles Schulz and the Creation of ‘Peanuts’
Ginger Wadsworth, illus. by Craig Orback. Holt/Ottaviano, $18.99
(40p) ISBN 978-1-250-17373-7
Fittingly, pictures and text pull equal weight in this warm
and perceptive portrait of Schulz’s life. As a child in 1920s
Minnesota, “Sparky” eagerly reads newspaper comics with his
parents and draws likenesses of his favorite characters on paper
scraps. Wadsworth reveals that Schulz displayed a quirky
imagination early on; his incongruous drawing of a man shov-
eling snow alongside a palm tree elicits high praise from his
kindergarten teacher. Intriguing anecdotes and visuals track
the origins of the Peanuts comic strip (inspired by the cartoon-
ist’s own hound’s “naughty adventures”), in which, purposely,
“The girls were as big and strong as the boys.” In polished,
mixed-media full-page and panel art, Orback deftly inte-
grates references to Schulz’s work into scenes that convinc-
ingly evoke the era and the celebrated cartoonist’s earnestness
and devotion to his craft. Ages 5–9. (Nov.)Just Like Beverly: A Biography of Beverly Cleary
Vicki Conrad, illus. by David Hohn. Little Bigfoot, $18.99 (48p)
ISBN 978-1-63217-222-8
Centenarian Cleary, who created such enduring characters
as Henry Huggins and Ramona Quimby and won the 1984
Newbery Medal for Dear Mr. Henshaw, had a lonely early
childhood as an only child growing up in rural Oregon. After
her family moved to Portland, the first grader struggled with
reading, unable to identify with boring stories assigned by her
irascible teacher and left to wonder, “Where were the booksabout kids like her?” Years later, working
as a librarian, she listened to complaints
from children asking that same question
and was inspired to write stories to which
contemporary kids could relate. Debut
author Conrad’s storytelling is straight-
forward, ably conveying—in tandem
with Hohn’s homespun, vintage-style
illustrations—the various eras of Cleary’s life and her passion
for writing and for nurturing readers. Ages 5–9. (Aug.)Mary Blair’s Unique Flair:
The Girl Who Became One of the Disney Legends
Amy Novesky, illus. by Brittney Lee. Disney Press, $17.99 (40p)
ISBN 978-1-4847-5720-8
Art imitates art-driven life in this uneven tribute to an iconic
illustrator who climbed to admirable creative heights at Walt
Disney Studios. Following a childhood in which her family had
little money for paint supplies, Mary Blair trains as an artist
and is hired by Disney to paint “a dog named Lady... and a
little elephant named Dumbo.” A work trip to South America
inspires her to create paint color variations and applications as
she works on classic animated films and helps design the It’s a
Small World attraction at Disneyland. Though an airy narra-
tive by Novesky echoes the whimsy of Blair’s art, captured in
Disney animation artist Lee’s stylized cut-paper and gouache
pictures, the book problematically distills South America to a
place of “bright and happy colors” (of which Blair’s favorite is,
inexplicably, “blanco—the color... of possibility”) and fails to
contextualize, or even address, myriad criticisms of It’s a
Small World. Ages 6–8. (Aug.)Pencils, Pens & Brushes:
A Great Girls’ Guide to Disney Animation
Mindy Johnson, illus. by Lorelay Bové. Disney Press, $18.99 (40p)
ISBN 978-1-368-02868-4
Johnson profiles women artists who worked at Walt
Disney’s animation studio in the decades following its
1923 founding. The subtitle’s double meaning represents
the book’s mission to celebrate their accomplishments
while encouraging readers to pursue their own goals. The
book includes few people of color, but the subjects within
nevertheless pursued eclectic and impressive lives outside
of Disney: before becoming a story concept artist, Sylvia
Holland was the only female architect in Canada, and Mary
Goodrich was both the first Connecticut woman to earn a
pilot’s license and the first female journalist to write an avia-
tion column. Disney animation artist Bové brings a snappy
Disney vibe to caricatures of her predecessors, incorporating
images of their cartoon creations. Ages 8–12. (Aug.)Storymakers
Picture books consider the creators behind famous children’s art and media.