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Title: Me and Uncle Romie: A Story Inspired by the Life and Art of Romare Bearden by Claire Hartfield, Jerome Lagarrigue ISBN: 0-8037-2520-5 Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers Pub. Date: December, 2002 Format: School & Library Binding Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.99

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Average Customer Rating: 3.5 (2 reviews)

Rating: 2
Summary: Doesn't Do the Artist Justice
Comment: Maybe it's because I'd just read "Uncle Andy's"-- another children's book about a famous artist--that I so disliked this one. Where the former is light and hip and fun, the latter is heavy-handed, preachy and uninspiring. The tone is far too serious for the subject, and for the age range of its intended audience. The illustrations, while interesting to adults, don't seem vibrant enough to catch a child's attention.

Finally, there's a minor event in the story that could, and should have been omitted or changed to something else: in order to get the child narrator alone with his uncle Romare, the author uses the literary device of having Aunt Nettie receive a phone call that an old aunt has died and she has to go to the funeral. What a thoughtless detail that cannot possibly remain minor! This book, remember, is directed at four to eight year olds. At the latter end of that range, some children *might* be coming to an awareness of death--but it's not a given, and certainly not the case for a four-year-old. Just the word funeral is a show-stopper. You can be sure it won't be glossed over by any curious child, and so we're stopped in our tracks, diverted from the main story, while we veer off into a discussion of funerals and death. I'm not saying we need to avoid these discussions--far from it-- but in a book about an artist and the joy of art it's intrusive and inappropriate.

I bought this book, along with Uncle Andy's, for my two grandsons, aged 4 and 6. I'm not giving them this one, at least not yet. I don't want to spoil the fun of the Warhol book, and the death talk can wait until they're ready for it.

Rating: 5
Summary: This Is The Perfect Book
Comment: When I bought this book for my kid, I didn't quite know what to expect. I was very excited to find that this is a book that I can enjoy with my child. This wonderful book with a heart-warming story and beautiful pictures was able to do something I thought no book could: teach something important to a child and allow the child to have fun. This book is good for kids of all ages and for parents of all ages too.

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