#Review of Girls Standing on Lawns by Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman #Published @ABRAMSbooks

Girls Standing on Lawns is a unique collaboration between renowned artist and bestselling children’s book author Maira Kalman and New York Times bestselling writer Daniel Handler, better known as Lemony Snicket. This clever book contains 40 vintage photographs from the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, New York, more than a dozen original paintings by Kalman inspired by the photographs, and brief, lyrical texts by Handler. Poetic and thought-provoking, Girls Standing on Lawns is a meditation on memories, childhood, nostalgia, home, family, and the act of seeing. The gorgeous visual material sets the stage for what Handler succinctly describes as “a photograph, a painting, a sentence, a pose.” Girls, women, families, and even pets from days gone by grace the pages, looking out at us, enticing readers to imagine these people, their lives—and where they have gone.

@crossroadreview

Maira Kalman is a bestselling and award-winning artist, illustrator, and writer whose books include 13 Words (with Lemony Snicket), And the Pursuit of Happiness, and The Elements of Style. Her artwork has been the subject of 14 solo exhibitions and has also been featured in group exhibitions in major museums. Girls Standing on Lawns is the first title in a series of illustrated children’s books Kalman will be publishing with MoMA, inspired by MoMA’s photography collection.

Daniel Handler is the internationally renowned author of the A Series of Unfortunate Events series, whose books have sold over 60 million copies in 44 languages.

This book was very odd.  Although I loved looking at the pictures.  I think this one is more of a non fiction collection of just the photos.  There is no real story.  I wish that we could have learned something about each picture.  My girls got a kick out of all the old photos and paintings.  But I wish it would have had more.  As their questions ranged from who is this, to where was it taken.  I do however think that this book would be a great one for the classroom.  And that is why this does not have a giveaway as it was donated to my daughters school.  I think their writing teacher would be able to use this to help the kids learn that you can create a book with almost anything. 

"All opinions are 100% honest and my own."

Disclaimer: Thanks to Goodreads and Amazon for the book cover, about the book, and author information.

Posted in: 4 Stars, Adult, Review