To print a CCBC booklist, click on a list below and then use your browser’s “Print” command. You can also select books from one or more booklists to create a custom list, which can also include books from the CCBC-Recommended Book Search.
Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood
CCBC Review:
Mira brightens up her own life and the lives of those in her neighborhood with the colorful pictures she creates. When she meets a muralist, they begin painting on walls around the neighborhood and soon the whole community is involved: shop owners and teachers, police officers and parents. And of course, children. Music blares and colors dazzle and the atmosphere—physical and emotional—is transformed. “Everyone painted to the rhythm. Salsa, merengue, bebop! Even Mira’s mama painted and danced the cha-cha-cha!” A buoyant picture book is based on the true story of Mexican American painter Rafael López who, with his wife, organizer Candice López, brought public art to a San Diego neighborhood, creating the Urban Art Trail. Rafael López illustrates this fictionalized account of that effort with dazzling mixed-media artwork that showcases the vibrant transformation. An author’s note includes photographs of the actual murals and some of the young painters. Highly Commended, 2017 Charlotte Zolotow Award ©2017 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by Rafael Lopez
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 5-9
Age Range:
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Format:
Picture book
Subjects:
Art and Artists
City Life
Collaboration
Community
Creativity
Mexicans and Mexican Americans
Diversity subject:
Latine
Publisher:
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publish Year: 2016
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9780544357693
CCBC Location: Picture Book, Campoy
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Our Recommended Book Search includes subject access to CCBC-recommended titles based on subject headings created by our staff.