For today’s Brainstorm I have 5 art history books that tell stories just a touch crazy, but 100% true. Click on the titles to see my full review of each book and any content notes/trigger warnings.
The 500 Million Dollar Heist: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Thirteen Missing Masterpieces by Tom Sullivan
An informational graphic novel about the Gardner Museum Heist of 1990, and the theories about where the art could be now.
A crazy unsolved art heist.
Target Readers: Graphic Novel Fans, True Crime Fans, Art History Fans, Nonfiction Fans, Unsolved Mystery Fans, Middle Grade Readers
Fragile Cargo: The World War II Race to Save the Treasures of China's Forbidden City by Adam Brookes
A look at the art, literature, and other cultural treasures that were found within the Forbidden City when the empire became a republic. A brief history of how those treasures came to be there and why they were valuable. The book then moves on to introduce the men who cataloged and curated those treasures, and the monumental effort they put in to save them over the years of conflict between China and Japan in the 1930s and 1940s.
This was a fascinating history of a rather small group of museum curators who had a seemingly impossible task of keeping rare pieces safe in a time of war when bombs, thieves, weather, and just the hazards of travel (they had to be moved several times to avoid battle zones) could easily obliterate them.
Target Readers: Chinese History Fans, Art History Fans, WWII Story Fans, Nonfiction Fans, Adult Readers (though approachable for some YA readers)
The Genius under the Table: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Eugene Yelchin
Eugene Yelchin shares about growing up in the USSR and how in a land where only exceptional talent got you a private apartment, his parents were always on the search for something that would make him stand out...in a good way. Their Jewish heritage most certainly didn't count, and neither did the holes in the photos where his mother's father used to be. His father fawns over Eugene's older brother who is an amazing figure skater, good enough he gets to travel internationally to represent their glorious country. He wishes Yevgeny (a more Russian spelling of Eugene's name) could be good at some sport, any sport. His mother weeps over the ballet dancer Baryshnikov and wishes Yevgeny could dance as beautifully as dear Mishka. Meanwhile, Yevgeny is recording the antics of their daily life in his own unique art style on the underside of the table where he sleeps every night.
The artwork in this quirky and humorous memoir recreates Yelchin’s actual artwork from the underside of the table.
Target Readers: Memoir Fans, Life in the USSR Story Fans, Humor Fans, Artist’s Biography Fans, Nonfiction Fans, Award Winner Readers, Middle Grade/YA Readers
The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity by Nicholas Day, ill. by Brett Helquist
A history of the theft of the Mona Lisa in 1911, the investigation into the crime (and development of forensic science in France at the time), the story of Leonardo da Vinci and how he came to paint the famous portrait, the woman behind the painting, and how the 1911 theft led to the painting's current fame (and upgraded security at the Louvre).
A crazy true story told in a crazy amazing way. Seriously, some of the best nonfiction writing for teens I’ve ever seen.
Target Readers: Art History Fans, True Crime Fans, Wannabe Writers, Engaging Nonfiction Fans, History Fans, Award Winner Readers, Middle Grade/Young Adult Readers
Monument Maker: Daniel Chester French and the Lincoln Memorial by Linda Booth Sweeney, ill. by Shawn Fields
An extensive picture book biography of Daniel Chester French, a self-taught sculptor who eventually got more and more training, and was commissioned to make many statues, including the statue of Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C..
Daniel Chester French’s path to becoming a sculptor is kind of a crazy story. The story of how the author came to study Daniel Chester French is also a bit of a crazy story (make sure you read the author’s note).
Target Readers: Picture Book Biography Fans, Sculptor Biography Fans, Art History Fans, Perseverance Story Fans, Nonfiction Fans, Art Lovers, Reluctant Nonfiction Readers, Middle Grade Readers (approachable to some LG readers)
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