Art in the Family
By LAURA SHAPIRO
Claire Hartfield's quiet, reflective account of another boy who visits another famous artist is fiction and makes no claims otherwise. But ''Me and Uncle Romie'' was inspired by Romare Bearden's life, and especially his art -- the collages that captured his experience of Harlem and his memories of North Carolina. Coincidentally, the boy in her story is also named James, and the lesson he carries home from the city is similar to Warhola's: the makings of art are all around us. Otherwise, these are two very different tales, not least because Hartfield's is set in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920's -- far indeed from the pure-glitter world of Pop Art.
James is from North Carolina, and he has never been to New York until he gets off the train at Penn Station. He's nervous -- his mother is in the hospital having twins, and he has been sent to stay with Uncle Romie and Aunt Nanette. But they have no children, his birthday is coming up, and he has no idea what to expect from this strange place, where people travel underground and the buildings reach the sky.
Uncle Romie doesn't have much time for him, it turns out, because he's preparing for a show; so Aunt Nanette takes him all over the city. Jerome Lagarrigue's dreamlike scenes of city streets, the apartment and the boy at the rain-swept window seem washed in mist, as if James were remembering them even now. The place he likes best is Harlem -- stickball, running through the spray from the hydrant, the sound of saxophones.
Much of the drama in this story takes place inside James himself, as he moves from the outskirts of his new experience to its heart. He finally gets to know Uncle Romie when his aunt has to leave the city suddenly for a funeral. ''For the first time the door to Uncle Romie's studio stood wide open. What a glorious mess!'' But as he gazes around, he recognizes Harlem -- ''saxophones, birds, fire escapes and brown faces'' -- in the scraps being assembled for the paintings. The two of them have something in common after all. And since Uncle Romie often spent the summer in North Carolina when he was growing up, it turns out they share a great deal more, including a fondness for pepper jelly. Off they go to a baseball game, and James's birthday is a success.
On the train back south, he opens a package Uncle Romie gave him and finds that his whole visit has become a collage. ''Tall buildings. Baseball ticket stubs. The label from the pepper jelly jar. And trains.'' Once home he assembles his own collage, mingling New York and North Carolina, and sends it off to his uncle. Kids who are inspired to do the same will find instructions for making collages at the end of the story. And everyone else will want to turn right back to the beginning of this lovely book and read it again.
Laura Shapiro writes frequently about the arts.
May 18, 2003
"Art inventively imitates art in this engaging volume. Newcomer Hartfield's fictional tale draws upon the work of collage artist Bearden who, as a child, moved from his native North Carolina to Harlem. Lagarrigue's (My Man Blue) softly focused acrylic paintings introduce collage elements as they effectively evoke the story's period setting, which shifts from the rural South to Manhattan. While his mother awaits the birth of twins, narrator James travels by train to visit his Aunt Nanette and Uncle Romie, who is working hard to finish paintings for his upcoming art show. The man remains behind the closed doors of his studio as his wife shows their nephew the sights of the city. Lagarrigue retains his own style while incorporating the turquoise, brick red, fuschia and other hues so prominent in Bearden's work; the compositions of his cityscapes in particular recall the giant collage The Block (1971). James becomes enamored of bustling Harlem, where he plays stickball and partakes in a rooftop barbecue. On his birthday, the lad wanders into his uncle's studio and is thrilled to discover that Bearden's art captures his favorite spot: "Looking at Uncle Romie's paintings, I could feel Harlem-its beat and bounce." In the satisfying ending, James, back at home with his new twin siblings, feels inspired to create his own collage as a birthday gift for his uncle. Concluding tips on making collages may well encourage readers to do the same. Ages 5-up."
November 11, 2002
"The spirit of Harlem--"the people, the music, the rooftops and the stoops"--infuses this tribute, in fiction, to the collage artist Romare Bearden (1911-1988)."
Notable Books For Children 2002
December 2002
For Young Readers
Picture Books
Me and Uncle Romie, by Claire Hartfield, illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue (Dial, $16.99; ages 5-up). This imaginative picture book tells the story of the black Harlem Renaissance painter and collage artist Romare Bearden (1911-88) from the perspective of a fictional nephew. Art history should always be so much fun. When his mama has twins, James is sent from his home in North Carolina to visit Uncle Romie and Aunt Nanette in New York City, along with a jar of down-home pepper jelly for his intimidating uncle. As it turns out, the two hit it off beautifully. And that gift of James's ends up inspiring one of the real-life Uncle Romie's best-known paintings, "Pepper Jelly Lady." Wisely, illustrator Jerome Lagarrigue hasn't tried to imitate Bearden's distinctive, brilliantly colored collages; his soft, shadowy acrylics have their own appeal.
Sunday, February 9, 2003
CHILDREN'S CORNER
By Mary Harris Russell. Mary Harris Russell, who teaches English at Indiana University Northwest, reviews children's books each week for the Tribune
Me and Uncle Romie
By Claire Hartfield, pictures by Jerome Lagarrigue
Dial, $16.99
Ages 8-11 years
"Uncle Romie" is the renowned artist Romare Bearden, and Jerome Lagarrigue's illustrations and Claire Hartfield's words pay homage to Bearden's vivid collages, putting the bright pieces of memory and daily life together. "Me" is a fictional boy, James, a nephew of Bearden's, who's sent to spend a summer with his aunt and uncle while his mother awaits the birth of twins. James isn't eager, remembering his uncle's photograph: "He looked scary--a bald-headed, fierce-eyed giant." The city and his uncle, however, become more familiar to James. Uncle Romie understands about birds, baseball and birthdays. The work life of an artist--Uncle Romie is getting ready for a big show--is interestingly layered into the story. It's a noteworthy achievement here that James' story strikes readers as real; he's not just an excuse to write about Romare Bearden. The endnotes about collages and Bearden's career are a nice bonus, but the book is a good story, not a workbook.
February 9, 2003
School Library Journal
Grade 2-4-This vibrant, evocative picture book presents a fictionalized version of Harlem Renaissance artist Bearden through the eyes of a nephew visiting from North Carolina. At first, young James catches only glimpses of his busy, distracted Uncle Romie and quickly decides that this elusive giant of a man must not be much fun. He makes collages, which seems awfully easy, and he's always shut away behind the closed door of his studio. James passes most of his time in New York with his Aunt Nanette, who comes across as a warm, willowy, Caribbean Earth Mother. When the boy's birthday rolls around, however, she has to go to a funeral, leaving only Uncle Romie for company. To James's pleasant surprise, his uncle knows how to have fun and even knows about baseball. Lagarrigue's lush, acrylic illustrations with collage elements recall the tones, brush strokes, and mixture of media that saturate Bearden's groundbreaking work. An author's note acknowledges that Hartfield's story is fiction and provides basic biographical information about the artist. Thumbnail reproductions from Bearden's work round out the narrative.
Catherine Threadgill, Charleston County Public Library, SC
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
THE BULLETIN
James is uncertain about leaving his parents behind in North Carolina for a summer in New York City with his aunt and uncle (he's especially worried about spending his birthday away from home). Aunt Nanette's affection soon allows him to feel comfortable in his relatives' apartment, but when she's called away unexpectedly, he's left only with Uncle Romie. Initially intimidated by his imposing artist uncle, James soon discovers he's a congenial companion and becomes intrigued by Romie's collage art, some of which depicts James' Ð and Romie's Ð North Carolina home. Uncle Romie is based on artist Romare Bearden and some of the memories Uncle Romie shares with James are based on Bearden's art, but ultimately, Bearden's connection to the book is fairly tenuous; fortunately, the fictional story stands on its own, offering a quiet and sympathetic account of a boy's discovery of his loving uncle and the powers of art. Lagarrigue wisely avoids imitating Bearden's style, instead offering subtle underlays of collage, mostly newspaper, that add richness and delicate patterning to the spreads. The striations of his orderly brushstrokes enhance the texture further, provide a feeling of three-dimensionality and order, and, in combination with his twilight palette and smeary acrylic hues, vividly recall the work of Degas. While this could serve as an introduction about Bearden, it also offers an invitation to the world of art that would complement Brian Karas' The Class Artist (BCCB 9/01). A guide to making collage is included, as is a brief note about the life of Romare Bearden. DS
January 2003
KIRKUS REVIEWS
This tribute to collage artist Romare Bearden is movingly executed in a fictionalized story of young James, who visits his aunt and uncle in New York while his parents adjust to the arrival of twins. James is a little nervous; Uncle Romie and Aunt Nanette don't have any kids, and a picture of Uncle Romie makes him look a little scary. Who will bake him a lemon cake and take him to the baseball game on his birthday? Aunt Nanette turns out to be warmhearted and welcoming, but Uncle Romie, busy with his art, seems a little distant. When the big day arrives, Uncle Romie turns out to be more fun than James anticipated. When James enters the art studio for the first time, he recognizes Harlem in Romie's collage paintings that he'd previously dismissed as "kinda easy" to make, and he sees one that reminds him of North Carolina, where Uncle Romie also grew up. Uncle and nephew bond over shared memories of home, and then Uncle Romie surprises James with tickets to the ballgame. Aunt Nanette is back in time for cake, and by the time James goes home, his horizons have expanded not only in terms of his family, but in his appreciation for other places and for the power of art. So many things at home now remind him of Uncle Romie that he makes a collage birthday card for him featuring train schedules, tiger lilies, a subway token and subway map, and his own painting. Lagarrigue's (Freedom Summer, 2001, etc.,) collage artwork, like Bearden's, possesses a real feel for the Harlem setting without actually being realistic. He conveys the essence of the place through bits of paper, darkly colored paint, and impressionistically blurry portrayals of people and scenes. A guide at the back to help young artists create their own collages enhances this fitting introduction to an American artist. (Picture book. 5-8)
December 1, 2002
BOOKLIST
The work of the landmark Harlem Renaissance painter Romare Bearden is the story behind the story in this handsome picture book that shows how he used paint and collage to create his amazing art. Told as fiction through the eyes of Bearden's young nephew James, who is visiting New York City from North Carolina, the words and pictures express what James sees and feels in the exciting neighborhood streets, what he remembers of home, and how the storytelling scraps relate to Bearden's art. Lagarrigue, who illustrated Nikki Grimes' My Man Blue (1999), once again uses expressive paintings to capture the "beat and bounce" of the city and the powerful bond between a boy and a loving father figure. This would be a stimulating model for art classes, and Hartfield ends with a useful double-page spread encouraging students to create their own storytelling combinations. The collage elements in Lagarrigue's vibrant acrylic paintings are less prominent than in Bearden's own work, but they add depth and rhythm to the beautiful painterly narrative that will introduce many children to the famous artist's life and work.
Hazel Rochman
February 15, 2003
