Just Being Dalí

October 15, 2020
Grades K-3 Guglielmo familiarizes readers with this renowned Spanish artist, a dreamer who spent his life resisting rules. Introduced to painting by a family friend, Dal� attended art school (until being expelled for not completing assignments), experimented with styles (settling on surrealism, although these artists later rejected him), and cultivated many eccentric behaviors (standing on his head; placing flowers in his hair; and wearing a cape, curly mustache, and funny shoes). The author also details the creation of Dal�'s most famous work, The Persistence of Memory, citing a melting wheel of Camembert cheese as its inspiration. Helquist's oil illustrations capture Dal�'s unconventional demeanor and flamboyant costumes and graphically incorporate the story's refrain, "but Salvador kept being himself." The art expands on the text and is particularly adept at showcasing Dal�'s odd practices: driving a car filled with cauliflower and taking his pet ocelot to a restaurant. Several works by Dal� (and others) are also depicted and identified in the back matter. This paean to the avant-garde will resonate with those who march to their own drumbeats.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

December 1, 2020
Following on C�zanne's Parrot (2020), Guglielmo and Helquist reunite for a buoyant, kid-friendly distillation of Salvador Dal�'s life and art. Focusing on Dal�'s boyhood impulses--exploration, imagination, doodling at school--the narrative quickly establishes the iconoclastic artist as an early irritant to his father, peers, and teacher. The reiterated complaint "Why can't you...?" is rejoined with variations on the titular refrain: "But Salvador was just being himself." A fortuitous convalescence with a painter's family sparked Dal�'s avid artistic path. He entered a Madrid art academy, where boredom with technical mastery provoked rebellion and expulsion. A move to Paris engendered artistic experimentation, and Dal� found his compatriots, the early surrealists. Helquist here inserts painted thumbnails of works by famous peers: Magritte, Arp, Ernst, Ray, and Mir�. His double-page spreads utilize clouds as conduits for playful imagery that aligns with Dal�'s intensely original imagination. The narrative follows Dal� and Gala, his lover and muse, back to Spain, then forth to the U.S., where the success of the small painting The Persistence of Memory (seen viewed by a diverse group of museumgoers) launched decades of fame for the prolific White artist. Guglielmo details some of Dal�'s increasingly sensational capers, which led the European surrealists finally to expel him. The result is to reduce Dal�'s work in design, collaboration, and what would today be seen as brand-building to antics that displeased critics but earned Dal� fans. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 75% of actual size.) Comedic details, invented dialogue, and cartoonish portrayals tilt this account to the blithely lighthearted. (author's note, selected bibliography, source notes, featured works of art) (Picture book/biography. 4-8)

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February 1, 2021

Gr 4-6-This literary nonfiction picture book spotlights the major events in Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dal�'s life, from his childhood to his eventual fame. The colorful illustrations are playful and detailed. In addition to the illustrations, another strength of the text is the reinforcement of the idea that it's okay to be different. The phrase Dal� was just "being himself" is repeated for effect. This title could be applied to lessons focusing on social emotional learning because of its positive messaging. It could also be used in art classes or ELA lessons focusing on the biography genre. A few key tenets of surrealism and representations of some of Dal�'s most important paintings are included. Back matter provides a selected bibliography, an author's note, source notes, and details about the featured works of art. VERDICT Recommended as an engaging and imaginative addition to biography collections, and for lessons centering on social emotional learning.-Christina Salazar, Mesquite I.S.D., TX

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 22, 2021
“In a small town on the northern edge of Spain lived a boy with big dreams and an even bigger name: Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech.” Guglielmo breezes through the highs and lows of the painter’s antic life (1904–1989), including a disapproving father and expulsion from art school, a pet bat and ocelot, a penchant for capes and elaborate facial hair, paintings featuring live worms and melting clocks, driving “a fancy car stuffed with one thousand pounds of cauliflower,” and being booted from the surrealists’ group—explaining it all as “Salvador couldn’t help being himself.” It’s entertaining, but Dalí remains something of an enigma (he would probably approve). In swirling lines and jewel-like colors, Helquist’s oil on paper illustrations realistically depict Dalí’s carnivalesque world. An afterword offers more insights into the artist’s legacy as well as the controversial reputation he earned in his own time. Ages 4–8.

May 1, 2021
This picture-book biography paints the Spanish surrealist artist as an imaginative, quirky person right from the start. As a child, he dreams of being a king and wears his king costume to school, puzzling others, but "Salvador was just being himself." This refrain repeats throughout the book with slight variations, each time with the words displayed on an appropriately flamboyant banner. His complicated personality and role in the adult art world are challenging to convey to children, but Guglielmo makes a good attempt at highlighting some of Dali's odder moments ("He gave a speech inside a deep-sea diving suit") in an objective way. Helquist's oil paintings incorporate reproductions of famous pieces of art, which are all named at the back, and he includes a variety of skin tones in the other adults depicted (usually with disapproving expressions on their faces). He also shows many of Dali's more amusing-to-children inventions, such as a lobster phone or a hat in the shape of a shoe. An author's note gives more information on Dali's life, and the selected bibliography includes other children's books about the artist for readers whose interest has been piqued. Susan Dove Lempke

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2021
This picture-book biography paints the Spanish surrealist artist as an imaginative, quirky person right from the start. As a child, he dreams of being a king and wears his king costume to school, puzzling others, but "Salvador was just being himself." This refrain repeats throughout the book with slight variations, each time with the words displayed on an appropriately flamboyant banner. His complicated personality and role in the adult art world are challenging to convey to children, but Guglielmo makes a good attempt at highlighting some of Dali's odder moments ("He gave a speech inside a deep-sea diving suit") in an objective way. Helquist's oil paintings incorporate reproductions of famous pieces of art, which are all named at the back, and he includes a variety of skin tones in the other adults depicted (usually with disapproving expressions on their faces). He also shows many of Dali's more amusing-to-children inventions, such as a lobster phone or a hat in the shape of a shoe. An author's note gives more information on Dali's life, and the selected bibliography includes other children's books about the artist for readers whose interest has been piqued.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)