Booklist Online: More than 130,000 book reviews for librarians, book groups, and book lovers - from the trusted experts at the American Library Association

Lynn: Polka-dot houses, broken dolls hanging from telephone poles, old shoes in trees  – for 25 years Tyree Guyton has created controversial art in a special place.  Magic Trash:  A Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art (Charlesbridge 2011) is an exuberant celebration of Guyton’s Heidelberg Project in East Side Detroit.

Tyree’s mother worked hard to support her ten children but there wasn’t money for toys, so Tyree picked up trash and “zapped fun into junk that others threw away.”  Encouraged by his grandfather to “paint the world.”  Tyree did just that.  Rioters burned his neighborhood when he was 12 and at 16 he left home to work and finally to attend art school before going home to Heidelberg Street.  Deserted tumbledown houses, trash and troublemakers greeted him.   Tyree was determined to save his street and helped by his grandfather, he grabbed his paintbrush and headed out.  Soon the neighbors were helping as Tyree created art out of the world around him.  Not everyone agreed that what he did was art and the city twice bulldozed houses on the street.  It took a court order finally to to save the street and Tyree has been going strong ever since.

Vanessa Brantley-Newton’s mixed media art is a delight and captures the spirit of Guyton’s work – turning everyday junk into amazing creations.  This inspiring book is a guaranteed discussion-starter and one that would be ideal to use with secondary art students as well as the picture book set.  The focus group loved it and were inspired to create their own trash-can art.  A very nice author’s note completes this book along with a short bibliography.

Cindy: Wow. I’ve read about the Heidelberg Project in our local papers over the years, but I’m delighted to see this picture book biography of  Tyree Guyton. I agree with Lynn that this book will work with a wide range of ages. The website includes a “Just for Kids” section that has teaching materials, and videos and photos of student work based on the Heidelberg Project. I enjoyed the video showing the work of 1st graders who drew their own homes and then decorated them with paint and other found objects in the style of Guyton’s work. Fabulous. And, to ask middle or high schoolers to look at the photos of the neighborhood and discuss “what is art?” “how to save urban neighborhoods” or “whether art is a ‘real’ job as Tyree’s mother argued.”

Use this book along with Sandy’s Circus: A Story About Alexander Calder by Tanya Lee Stone to compare the art and life experiences of two artists who grew up under different circumstances, but have similar passions.

This week’s Nonfiction Monday blog roundup is hosted by Gathering Books. Check it out.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 5th, 2011 at 8:19 am and is filed under Art teachers take notice, Biographies, Curriculum Connections, Dare to dream, Gr. 2-4, Gr. 4-7, Twins' Thumbs Up - Age 8. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.