Silent Days, Silent Dreams
by Allen Say
Date: 2017
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 64
Format: e-book
Source: library
James Castle was born two months premature on September 25, 1899, on a farm in Garden Valley, Idaho. He was deaf, mute, autistic and probably dyslexic. He didn't walk until he was four; he would never learn to speak, write, read or use sign language.
Yet, today Castle's artwork hangs in major museums throughout the world. The Philadelphia Museum of Art opened "James Castle: A Retrospective in 2008." The 2013 Venice Biennale included eleven works by Castle in the feature exhibition "The Encyclopedic Palace." And his reputation continues to grow.
Caldecott Medal winner Allen Say, author of the acclaimed memoir Drawing from Memory, takes readers through an imagined look at Castle's childhood, allows them to experience his emergence as an artist despite the overwhelming difficulties he faced, and ultimately reveals the triumphs that he would go on to achieve.
(synopsis from Goodreads)
Um... no. Aside from being full of conjecture, this "biography" about an artist doesn't even feature any pictures of the artist's work! Allen Say instead did all the drawings, imitating Castle's style. I don't think I've ever come across anything as blatantly self-serving. It would be like writing a biography of Picasso, recreating all his pieces yourself, and expecting accolades.
In addition, the book is told from the point of view of a nephew, who is apparently real, but definitely isn't Allen Say. It even says on the copyright page that this is a work of fiction and doesn't claim to be historically accurate.
I'm sorry, but I really don't understand the point of this.
Premise: 1/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 1/5
Illustrations: 1/5
Originality: 1/5
Enjoyment: 1/5
Overall: 1 out of 5
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