Monument Maker

August 16, 2019

Gr 2-&4-While the Lincoln Memorial is one of the most famous statues in the United States, the sculptor who created the statue is arguably not as well-known. This picture book biography tells the story of Daniel Chester French from his days as a farm boy drawing birds and making the neatest plow lines to his time as a preeminent sculptor. While the story begins in modern times with two unnamed children in color drawings, the bulk of the narrative is told in black-and-white illustrations on white pages. Color photographs of the statues are sometimes blended in with the illustrations. This is startling but effective. At the book's end, the children return to the now completed Lincoln memorial, closing the loop on a baffling and incongruous framing device that is the main detractor from this otherwise quite good biography. Back matter includes an excellent time line of French's life, complete with more color photographs and notes on the significance and legacy of the Lincoln Memorial, particularly as a site for speeches. VERDICT A good, simple biography on a lesser-known creator of a very famous landmark. It could serve as an excellent supplement to a collection of art or landmarks but not a first purchase.-Elizabeth Nicolai, Anchorage Public Library, AK

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 15, 2019
The environment that nurtured Daniel Chester French is given loving treatment by Sweeney and Fields. Sculptor French was a largely self-taught artist when he fashioned the embattled farmer that stands in Concord, Massachusetts, to commemorate the opening salvoes of the American Revolution. The work made French's name a household word, but he had plenty of experience with art before that. As Sweeney ably tells his story, French loved the outdoors, where he would sketch birds and the like. He tended the family farm, working his artistry into the plowing of the fields and repairs to the fences and outbuildings. Having grown up during the Civil War, he was influenced by the event and its idealistic aspects, especially those espoused by his Transcendentalist neighbors. As Sweeney traces French's way in the world, French goes on to create numerous statues of Civil War heroes, including the epic sculpture of Abraham Lincoln enshrined in his memorial. A timeline and author's note fill in various gaps in the text, and Fields' drawings are both powerful and graceful, just as French would have wanted, depicting a largely white cast but including some figures of color, including one of the two modern children who observe the story. They are modeled in color while French and his times are represented in vigorously crosshatched black and white. Both bracing and winning, a fine tribute to the sculptor and his world. (Picture book biography. 8-12)

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Starred review from September 15, 2019
Grades 3-6 *Starred Review* This handsome book introduces sculptor Daniel Chester French and the monumental statue that he created for the Lincoln Memorial. Born in 1850, French grew up in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. He was unsuccessful in college, uninspired by farm life, and unable to settle on a profession until his family recognized and encouraged his artistic talent. A local competition led to his first significant work, The Minute Man. After studying sculpture in Italy, he returned to America and enjoyed a successful career, culminating in the powerful statue of Lincoln. The book's broad pages offer plenty of space for the lucid main text and lively illustrations, which work together well. The writing features vignettes such as a memorable account of a turnip-carving experience that revealed French's aptitude for sculpture as well as an informative account of the Lincoln Memorial project, its central statue, and its place in American life. Strong, graceful, and expressive, Fields' artwork captures the period setting while making even unnamed people look like individuals. Though color is used here and there, most of the illustrations are large, beautiful crosshatched pen-and-ink drawings in black and white. Appended information, notes, and photos conclude this engaging tribute to French and the Lincoln Memorial.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)