Me and Uncle Romie brings the world of art to life for children, through Claire Hartfield's story based on the life and work of world-renowned African-American collage artist, Romare Bearden. This fictional tale follows a young boy as he travels by train from his smalltown home in North Carolina for a visit with his Uncle Romie, an artist in New York City. Through the boy's experiences, readers will discover the City's wonders and learn, in a lively and personal way, about the connection between life experiences and art. The illustrations, by Jerome LaGarrigue, winner of the 2002 Coretta Scott King Award for a New Artist, include elements of collage. The book also includes reproductions of two Bearden works -- The Block and The Pepper Jelly Lady. An Author's Note gives a short biographical sketch of Bearden. A how-to section immediately following the story encourages children to experiment with creating collages of their own.
