Amy Guglielmo, Jacqueline Tourville, and Brigette Barrager team up to tell the joyful and unique story of the trailblazing Disney artist Mary Blair.
Mary Blair lived her life in color: vivid, wild color.
From her imaginative childhood to her career as an illustrator, designer, and animator for Walt Disney Studios, Mary wouldn’t play by the rules. At a time when studios wanted to hire men and think in black and white, Mary painted twinkling emerald skies, peach giraffes with tangerine spots, and magenta horses that could fly.
She painted her world.
Publishers Weekly
07/03/2017
The aesthetic of artist Mary Blair has had an outsize impact on the children’s book world, and now her life story gets its own book. Throughout, Guglielmo (the Touch the Art series) and Tourville (Albie’s First Word) emphasize the sexism and artistic pushback Blair faced and her unabashed love of color: “On her first day of work , the men in charge didn’t want to talk about cerulean or celadon or cerise.” Barrager (Uni the Unicorn) laces her vibrant images with visual references to Blair’s memorable work for such films as Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan. An effervescent tribute that doesn’t sugarcoat Blair’s path to success. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: (for Guglielmo) Stephen Barbara, Inkwell Management; (for Tourville) Brianne Johnson, Writers House. Illustrator’s agent: Kirsten Hall, Catbird Agency. (Aug.)
September/October 2017 The Horn Book Magazine
"Barrager's digital illustrations employ a kaleidoscopic, Fauvist palette and intense patterns in a retro aesthetic that reflects the time of Disney's golden age. Guglielmo and Tourville's text uses deliciously precise color names.... This is a love letter to the color wheel and a prismatic snapshot of a commerical artist's singular style, with a touch of feminism as this woman's vivacious creativity couldn't be dulled by "men in charge," with their "black lines and strict rules.""
July/August 2017 - BCCB
"Walt Disney Studios were pretty solidly a man’s world when Mary Blair and her passionate love of zingy color reported to work in 1940 . . . [K]ids and their adult readers...will be rewarded with a story of a woman worth knowing, and they will enjoy the ’60s mod colorscape and collage-like retro design that echos Blair’s 'Small World' achievement."
Booklist
*STARRED REVIEW* "Sunshine radiates past corners and mermaids swim off the page, while rainbow wisps stream from Mary’s paintbrush and trail after her fingers.... The whimsical illustrations will enamor young readers while older kids will learn about a Disney legend as well as new words, such as russet or viridian. An independent, enthusiastic role model, Mary will teach young readers how to value what makes them special and advocate for their talents."
School Library Journal
07/01/2017
K-Gr 4—This picture book biography of Mary Blair reveals a woman who thought outside the box and beyond the "rules" of art. Digitally rendered illustrations assist in telling the story of the artist who followed her own vision and relished playing with color. The pictures show paint swirling off the artwork Blair created, emphasizing her desire to be free to do what came naturally. A variety of hues with which readers may not be familiar are introduced, such as sienna, azure, viridian, cerulean, and mauve. Blair accepted a position with Walt Disney Studios during the Depression, assuming the company would welcome her artistic flair. The scene of her first day at work depicts her dressed in teal and pink while the other illustrators, all men, wear black, brown, gray, and white—foretelling the resistance to individuality she encountered. Blair soon resigned from that position and found satisfaction in illustrating books and advertisements, but years later Walt Disney himself hired her back. He appreciated her unconventional use of color and wanted it for the "It's a Small World" ride he designed for the 1964 World's Fair. The ending spread pays homage to that very ride, showing a slew of kids, dressed in cultural costumes, holding hands; however, this depiction reinforces many stereotypes and will likely need to be followed by a discussion. VERDICT Budding artists will enjoy learning about Blair and her persistence in obeying her instincts and creating art that pleased her.—Maryann H. Owen, Oak Creek Public Library, WI
Kirkus Reviews
2017-05-24
Artist Mary Blair uses intense colors in world-famous creations. When her family moves away from her childhood house, which is lemon yellow, Blair "tuck[s] her friend lemon in her pocket," memorizing that color. Growing up, she collects color after color in her mind: russet, azure, viridian, cerulean, celadon. As one of the first women to work at Walt Disney Studios, she contributes to Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan but is stymied by male bosses, who declare her work (such as magenta flying horses) "too vivid, too wild." She leaves to do advertising, book illustration, and stage sets, but Disney himself invites her back to work on a new ride called "It's a Small World." Blair, white and blonde, "had never been to places like China or Morocco or Kathmandu…but her colors had." That assertion reads as an excuse for something Guglielmo and Tourville never mention: real-world criticism of Small World for reductive exoticism of race, nationality, and ethnicity. Other instances of color personification, in contrast, are pure fun: colors "run and dance"; they "encourage…[Blair] to leave the men with their black lines and strict rules." Some of Barrager's hues clash with their textual descriptions, but her playful swirls are energetic. Subtitle notwithstanding, the text is nonrhyming. A bright homage to Blair's bold work, though shown through rose-colored glasses. (authors' note) (Picture book/biography. 5-8)
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