CCBC Booklists

CCBC booklist are compiled from books we have recommended in various editions of CCBC Choices. Most of these booklists are updated annually. You can also select books from one or more booklists to create a custom list, which can also include additional books from the CCBC-Recommended Book Search.

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A Tulip in Winter: A Story About Folk Artist Maud Lewis

by Kathy Stinson

CCBC Review:

Nova Scotian folk artist Maud Lewis loved playing piano as a child. When her hands started growing twisted and stiff from a mysterious condition (since identified as rheumatoid arthritis), she could no longer play but she could hold the paintbrush her mother gave her. “Maud jabbed the brush into red and dragged it across the paper. … Red on white made its own kind of music.” She loved painting, excited by shape and color and line. In adulthood, Maud couldn’t find a job to support herself. Then a gruff fishmonger named Everett Lewis hired her as his live-in housekeeper once she assured him that her condition was not contagious. “Everett was strong in body. Maud was strong in spirit.” They married, and although money remained tight, Maud painted wherever and whenever she could. “She painted on walls, windows, doors, shelves, trays, breadboxes, the canisters, the dustpan … Even the woodstove!” The once dreary house became a work of art. The joyful, vibrant spirit of this singular artist’s work shines from both words and images in this appreciative account, while a welcome note provides more about Maud’s work and legacy as an artist as well as perspectives on her marriage to Everett. ©2023 Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Illustrated by Lauren Soloy

CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 7-10
Age Range: PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7) Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Formats: Biography, Autobiography and Memoir Picture book
Subjects: Art and Artists Creativity Economic Hardship and Poverty Illness and Disease
Diversity subject: Physical
On CCBC Booklist: Picture Books for Older Children and Teens: Never Too Old

Publisher: Greystone
Publish Year: 2023
Pages: 40
ISBN: 9781771649513
CCBC Location: Non-Fiction, 920 Lewis

Can’t find what you’re looking for? Our Recommended Book Search includes access to CCBC-recommended titles based on subject headings created by our staff.

Please send questions or comments about CCBC booklists to ccbcinfo@education.wisc.edu.