Horner Doogie - Kid artists: true tales of childhood from creative legends

ot every kid grows up to be a great artist. But every great artist definitely starts out as a kid. Painters get their start by doodling in school notebooks. Sculptors begin by playing with mud in their backyards. And most illustrators working today can name their favorite comic book, video game, or animated cartoon.

This book tells stories from the lives of sixteen legendary artists. You will surely recognize some of the names, but youve probably never heard such curious details about the artists lives. Thats because these stories take place before these painters, sculptors, and illustrators were famousback when they were still kids doing homework, drawing in sketchpads, and dealing with moms and dads, brothers and sisters.

Its okay if you are not familiar with all the names in this book. You dont need to be. Its not necessary to see Andy Warhols artworks to understand how much he did not want to go to school. He disliked school so much that, every morning, a grown-up had to drag him kicking and screaming out of the house.

On the other hand, youre probably quite familiar with the work of Dr. Seuss. Even so, you might not know that, as a kid, he was teased and bullied by his classmates. This book tells you why.

Then theres Jean-Michel Basquiat. His family had very little money, so he had to sleep in a crawlspace under the stairs.

And who could forget Charles Schulz? He entertained millions with comics about Charlie Brown and Snoopy. But did you know that his first published comic was about his familys real-life dog?

Each of the artists in this book had a special talent. Many of them also faced special challenges. Whether it was recovering from illness and injuries, like Frida Kahlo

or dealing with an overprotective mother, like Yoko Ono

or surviving a gruesome childhood accident, like Jackson Pollock