The Sky Painter: Louis Fuertes, Bird Artist

by Margarita Engle, Aliona Bereghici (Illustrator)

Overview

Louis loves to watch birds. He takes care of injured birds and studies how they look and how they move. His father wants him to become an engineer, but Louis dreams of being a bird artist. To achieve this dream, he must practice, practice, practice. He learns from the art of John James Audubon. But as Louis grows up, he begins to draw and paint living, flying birds in their natural habitats.

Louis Agassiz Fuertes (1874–1927) is now known as the father of modern bird art. He traveled with many scientific expeditions all over the world. His best-known works—paintings for habitat exhibits at the American Museum of Natural History in New York—are still beloved by visitors today. His art helped to encourage wildlife conservation, inspiring people to celebrate and protect the world of wings.

Poems by Newbery Honor–winning author Margarita Engle and illustrations by Aliona Bereghici capture the life of Louis Fuertes and the deep sense of wonder that he felt when he painted the sky.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781503949393
Publisher:	Two Lions
Publication date:	01/12/2021
Pages:	41
Sales rank:	1,039,424
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 10.60(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

Margarita Engle is a Cuban American poet and novelist whose work has been published in many countries. Her books include The Poet Slave of Cuba, winner of the Pura Belpré Award for narrative and the Américas Award; The Surrender Tree, a Newbery Honor book; Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian, a Kirkus Best Book for Children; and The Lightning Dreamer, Cuba’s Greatest Abolitionist, winner of the 2014 PEN Center USA Literary Award for Young Adult/Children’s Literature. Margarita lives in California, where she enjoys bird-watching and helping her husband with his volunteer work for wilderness search-and-rescue dog training programs. Visit her online: www.margaritaengle.com.

Editorial Reviews

04/27/2015
In spare first-person poems, Louis Fuertes describes his life from a young devotee of birds to a career as a naturalist and artist. While Bereghici’s watercolor-and-ink art offers realistically detailed images of the birds Fuertes loves, whimsical moments are present, too, as when Fuertes he dives underwater to observe ducks (“I plunge into a lake and look up/ from below, studying their funny tails/ and their paddling/ webbed feet”). Engle’s quiet verse portrays Fuertes as a quietly impassioned individual most at home in the presence of animals or sharing his love for them. Ages 6–8. Author’s agent: Michelle Humphrey, Martha Kaplan Agency. Illustrator’s agency: the Organisation. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

In spare first-person poems, Louis Fuertes describes his life from a young devotee of birds to a career as a naturalist and artist. While Bereghici’s watercolor-and-ink art offers realistically detailed images of the birds Fuertes loves, whimsical moments are present, too…Engle’s quiet verse portrays Fuertes as a quietly impassioned individual most at home in the presence of animals or sharing his love for them.” —Publishers Weekly

“This stellar picture book biography examines the life of Louis Agassiz Fuertes. Bereghici’s stunning watercolor and ink spreads practically fly off the page with their richly colored, realistic depictions of Fuertes’s environment and experiences. The text is minimal, but Engle has selected strong, descriptive words to tell this story. VERDICT An excellent addition to science and biography collections.” —School Library Journal, Maggie Chase, Boise State University, ID

“The Sky Painter is highly, highly recommended. Engle’s brilliant economy of words is matched only by her affection for her subjects. In a series of free-verse poems, she tells Fuertes’ story in the first person, so young children will identify with the boy whose passions and talents would not be reined in…Throughout, Bereghici’s illustrations complement Engle’s story of a boy, then a young man, then an adult, always with an expression of wonder at what he’s been given to do.” —De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children

“The Sky Painter by Margarita Engle is one of the most absolutely beautiful books! The gorgeous poems combined with the lovely illustrations (by Aliona Bereghici) make it a book you immediately want to share with others.” —Library Fanatic

“Engle’s descriptive poems are informative as well as beautiful to read: ‘Alaska: I whistle. Birds answer...The beauty of flight like a dance in the clouds.’ Bereghici’s softly hued ink and watercolor illustrations showing a wide variety of birds are clearly labeled. This appealing story of an early wildlife conservationist may inspire children to watch the sky and learn more about our avian friends.” —Booklist

“Through free verse and lovely illustrations, Margarita Engle and Aliona Bereghici introduce a new generation of children to Fuertes, whose work could inspire them to pay attention to the birds in the own communities.” —Rethinking Schools magazine

From the Publisher

05/01/2015
K-Gr 3—This stellar picture book biography examines the life of Louis Agassiz Fuertes. Inspired by John James Audubon's work but disgusted by the practice of killing and mounting birds in order to draw them, Fuertes was one of the first to paint birds while observing them in their natural habitat. Bereghici's stunning watercolor and ink spreads practically fly off the page with their richly colored, realistic depictions of Fuertes's environment and experiences. All but a few birds represented in the illustrations are artfully labeled. The narrative is told in the first person from Fuertes's perspective, with helpful chapterlike headings appearing every few pages. The text is minimal, but Engle has selected strong, descriptive words to tell this story. This title would work well as a mentor text for demonstrating how to write a biography from the subject's point of view. Readers will enjoy learning about how Fuertes's passion for birds, which began from a very young age, led to a fulfilling career. VERDICT An excellent addition to science and biography collections.—Maggie Chase, Boise State University, ID

School Library Journal