Posted by admin on Jan 1, 2009 in
Books Hollywood pairs may come and go, but the austere farmers in American Gothic are the most durable couple since Adam and Eve. Everybody recognizes the faces in the most parodied painting in the world, but what about the artist who created this icon? Artist in Overalls tells the story of how a shy Iowa farm boy followed his dream and became a celebrated artist. Grant Wood’s success teaches us all lessons about observation, determination, originality and honesty. Plus, Artist in Overalls also teaches you how to draw a chicken through a method so easy, even I can do it! After reading this, you may even be inspired to get up and chicken dance.
Here’s what some reviewers have to say:
Publisher’s Weekly: A Midwestern plainspokenness shapes this account of the native sons life and work, told here as a sort of farm-bred fairy tale of early hardship and eventual triumph. Wood’s monetarily poor but visually rich childhood and determined pursuit of his own artistic vision are described in an unsentimental but lively manner. Duggleby’s homage to his fellow Iowan is a quietly inspiring portrait of the hard work, perseverance and down-home quirkiness of a major artist.”
School Library Journal: “The author writes with great skill, telling Wood’s story not simply with dates and places, but with anecdotes, descriptions, and snatches of conversation. He brings the artist to life–his shyness and stubbornness, dreams and disappointments, his way of winning friends and his determination to paint in his own way. He makes Wood out to be a person worth knowing about.”
Kirkus Reviews (pointer): Duggleby includes many anecdotes from Wood’s childhood, to help readers understand the boy’s struggle to become an artist… an eloquent volume.
Boston Book Review: “It is beautifully illustrated with Woods’ works and is a wonderful introduction to the preteen artistically inclined child.”
The Horn Book Magazine: “A handsome, easy-to-read biography that places Wood’s life against the background of the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution and its influences on American culture… Duggleby captures this sense of Wood’s (Midwestern) roots, which the book’s lavish use of color reproductions and decorative sketches ably supports.”
Bulletin of the Center For Children’s Books: “Here’s a Wood biography that brings into focus more than just the famous farm couple… a clear picture of the awkward man whose passion for his art, his country, and his people translated into the art movement of Regionalism.”
The 58-page book contains over two dozen art reproductions and photographs, most of them in full color. Order the book here and receive something you can’t get anywhere else: a signed copy! I’ll be happy to personalize it with any message up to fifteen words, or my generic, “Happy reading, John Duggleby.” For a copy of the book, send a check for $15.95 for hardcover or $7.95 paperback plus $3.00 shipping to me at 5322 Norma, McFarland, WI. If you order additional copies of this or any of my other books, shipping is only $1.00 per book.
Posted by admin on Jan 1, 2009 in
Books The paintings of Jacob Lawrence tell stories. Stories of African-American enslavement and freedom, of human migration and renaissance, of struggle and of triumph. These stunning paintings provide the backdrop for this story of one of the finest painters of any race. Follow “Jake’s” own story from his family’s experience in the great migration North, to his growing up in the midst of the Harlem Renaissance, to his rise as one of the most renowned painters of African American life.
I was deeply honored to receive the National Council of Social Studies’ Carter G. Woodson Book Award for Story Painter. Here’s what some others thought:
Publisher’s Weekly (starred review): “Duggleby once again enlarges upon themes in an American artist’s life and work to create a gratifying portrait of a particular time and place. Lawrence’s expressionistic, stark paintings, in excellent full-page color reproduction, together with an artful layout incorporating the artist’s blocky color fields and rhythmic patterns, nicely complement Duggleby’s measured account of a materially poor but culturally rich childhood and Lawrence’s subsequent struggles and successes.”
Booklist: “This handsome biography… will stimulate group discussion about the African American experience and also about “everyone’s search for a better life.”
University of Illinois Center for Children’s Books:
“The book is particularly good at capably conveying the complicated relationship of Lawrence’s art and his African-American culture… There’s an inviting look to the book… that lends it a casual accessibility.”
The Horn Book: “Here is a visually striking, well-researched biography of one of the premier African-American artists of the contemporary era. The use of Lawrence’s paintings both to illustrate significant points in his life as well as to show his artistic accomplishment adds a great deal to a text that is readable and informative.”
Kirkus Reviews: “With the same care that he lavished on his biography of Grant Wood, Duggleby shows how the vibrant, textured paintings of Jacob Lawrence “symbolized the search for a better life by people of all races throughout history.” The language Duggleby uses is straightforward but evocative, often allowing the paintings to “speak” for themselves.”
School Library Journal: “A thoughtful, accessible account of the life of one of the pioneers of 20th-century American art.”
Hungry Mind Review: Duggleby manages to simplify in all the right ways, focusing on the details that kids would find interesting and omitting the ones they wouldn’t.”
The 64-page hardcover book contains over twenty-five full-color reproductions and an insightful glossary. Order the book here and receive something you can’t get anywhere else: a signed copy! I’ll be happy to personalize it with any message up to fifteen words, or my generic, “Happy reading, John Duggleby.” For a copy of the book, send a check for $16.95 plus $3.00 shipping to me at 5322 Norma, McFarland, WI 53558. If you order additional copies of this or any of my other books, shipping is only $1.00 per book.
Posted by admin on Jan 1, 2009 in
Books There was nobody like “Brother Ray.” He became blind at age seven, went to a school for kids like him, then left at only fifteen to pursue his muse alone in a world he couldn’t see. Ray’s odyssey took him across the country and through musical genres from jazz and country to soul and rock, and full circle to his roots in gospel. He overcame blindness, poverty, racial discrimination and personal issues with immense determination and talent, truly earning his nickname: “The Genius.”
Here’s how Booklist, the American Library Association’s Journal, reviewed Uh Huh!
“Duggleby traces Charles’ long career and displays a sensitivity to the events surrounding his life (including his bitter battles with heroin and alcohol addiction), as well as a genuine understanding of his music and the breadth of his musical influences. Sidebars… enrich the narrative. An attractive design… this effective biography shows the triumphs and tragedies that shaped this towering figure in American popular music.
Uh Huh! packs 52 illustrations into its 160 pages, and is published with a reinforced library binding, source notes and bibliography. Order the book here and receive something you can’t get anywhere else: a signed copy! I’ll be happy to personalize it with any message up to fifteen words, or my generic, “Happy reading, John Duggleby.” For a copy of the book, send a check for $26.95 plus $3.00 shipping to me at 5322 Norma, McFarland, WI 53558. If you order additional copies of this or any of my other books, shipping is only $1.00 per book.
Posted by admin on Jan 1, 2009 in
Books
John Lennon didn’t invent rock and roll, but he expanded it into a soundtrack for social change, and the role of musician from entertainer to conscience for his generation. From lonely, mischievous boy, to scruffy bandleader, to musical legend, to political force, to martyr; few packed as much life and fame into 40 years as the “brainy Beatle.”
I grew up with Beatle songs in my ears, and my book introduces a younger generation to arguably the most important musician in the past 50 years. School Library Journal opined that, “The author touches on the major moments in Lennon’s life without going into too
much detail… a fine job of compressing a full and fascinating life into this compact volume.
Revolution contains 176 pages and 37 illustrations, and is published with a reinforced library binding, source notes and bibliography. Order the book here and receive something you can’t get anywhere else: a signed copy! I’ll be happy to personalize it with any message up to fifteen words, or my generic, “Happy reading, John Duggleby.” For a copy of the book, send a check for $26.95 plus $3.00 shipping to me at 5322 Norma, McFarland, WI 53558. If you order additional copies of this or any of my other books, shipping is only $1.00 per book.