Artists Who Created Great Works

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-Artists contains biographies of 20 well-known painters, sculptors, and architects; a two-page spread is devoted to each. Included are full-color and black-and-white reproductions and descriptions of some of their works. The discussions are so brief-at most five columns-that they leave out as much as they recount. Encyclopedia articles on figures such as Michelangelo, da Vinci, and Picasso are much longer and have more report material. Structures employs a similar format, but is more useful than Artists. Among the topics covered are the Great Zimbabwe, the Taj Mahal, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the English Channel Tunnel. Each section discusses the location of the structure, who built it (if known), and how it was constructed. This book offers more information and illustrative material than most encyclopedia articles. Unfortunately, there is no explanation in either book as to how or why various events or persons are selected. (Why is Georgia O'Keeffe included, but not Mary Cassatt? Why the Tower of London, but not Machu Picchu or the Cathedral of Florence?). Structures is an acceptable purchase for larger collections, but Artists is unnecessary.-Elaine Lesh Morgan, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR