Diego Rivera

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-These disappointing biographies of two of Mexico's most interesting artists break no new ground. In Diego Rivera, the concepts and terms are explained in distracting, poorly written parenthetical asides, or reduced to very brief, choppy sentences. Frida Kahlo plods through the major events of the artist's life with only the clumsiest attempts to set her life into historical context and without reflecting sufficiently on the effects of those events on her psyche. Most disturbing is Morrison's failure to properly cite any number of the numerous details of Kahlo's life and the many included quotes. However, both books claim crisp, full-color reproductions of a number of paintings and photographs of the artists and useful recommendations for further reading. Doreen Gonzales's Diego Rivera Barbara C. Cruz's Frida Kahlo (both Enslow, 1996) are far more engaging and better researched choices.-Sophie R. Brookover, Mount Laurel Library, NJ Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.