Book Description
for Make Meatballs Sing by Kara Kramer and Matthew Burgess
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
A vibrant picture-book biography celebrates the life, passions, and unique creativity of Corita Kent. Born Frances Elizabeth, Kent, a white woman, surprised family and friends by becoming a Catholic nun—Sister Corita—at a young age. First assigned to teach elementary school students, Kent found her artistic stride as a faculty member in the art department at Immaculate Heart College. Her artistic approach could be summed up in a word of her own coining: plork, a portmanteau of “play” and “work.” Kent found art and inspiration in everyday signs and objects and encouraged her students to look closely at the world around them. Passionate and bold, she created colorful prints that shouted for justice, peace, and unity and attracted the disapproving eye of the Catholic Church. After three decades as a nun, Kent was released from her vows upon request. She continued to inspire through art for the rest of her life; her work includes an enormous rainbow splashed across a gas tank in Boston, and her well-known rainbow “Love” stamp. Illustrations reminiscent of Kent’s style, bursting with bold colors, collage, and large geometric shapes, complete this lively tribute. (Ages 6-12)
CCBC Choices 2022. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2022. Used with permission.