I’m Gonna Paint

Description

The life of visionary folk artist and labor organizer Ralph Fasanella stunningly illustrated for picture book readers.

Winner of the Silver Medal at the Society of Illustrators’ Original Art Show
A Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2024 Illustration Winner

When dared to jump, Ralph always took the dare. So begins this beautiful tribute to a singular artist and his tireless efforts to honor and celebrate immigrant and working-class communities through his paintings.

Born in 1914 New York City to Italian immigrants, Ralph’s youth was one of dress factories, ice deliveries, union meetings, and Momma’s stories of the Bread & Roses Strike around the dinner table. By teaching himself how to paint, Ralph discovered a new way to reach working people: he would depict their lives, their work, and American history with electric color at a grand scale.

Focusing on themes of social justice, immigrant rights, labor rights, and the dignity of working people, I’m Gonna Paint inspires to give a new generation the confidence to continue the fight for better working conditions.

Anne Broyles taps into Ralph’s indomitable spirit to show his evolution as an artist, while Victoria Tentler-Krylov’s energetic art leaps off the page with wonder and homages to Ralph’s style. Meticulously researched with quotes from Ralph to underline his philosophy and approach to artmaking, the robust back matter includes reproductions of his paintings, historical photos, a timeline, a bibliography, a source notes, and much more.★ “Broyles highlights the man’s ‘rambunctious,’ resilient, and independent nature. . . . Tentler-Krylov’s dynamic watercolors bring her subject to life. . . . A perfect companion to Levinson’s The People’s Painter.”—The Horn Book, Starred Review

★ “The illustrations employ striking, vibrant colors and attention to minute details, masterfully emulating Fasanella’s own style. Readers will enjoy poring over them. . . . A very fine introduction to the life and work of a significant American craftsman.”—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

★ “For readers ready to be plunked into the underbelly of the 20th century and then uplifted by one painter’s take on its myriad social issues and politics, this is a grand start.”—School Library Journal, Starred Review

★ “Broyles details Ralph’s life via an engaging narrative of the intersection between art and organizing, while Tentler-Krylov’s closely worked, watercolor-textured illustrations echo the artist’s own detailed style.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred ReviewAnne Broyles is a world traveler, vegan cook, hiker, art lover, avid reader, and children’s book author. Her published books for children include Arturo and the Bienvenido Feast, Arturo and the Navidad Birds, Priscilla and the Hollyhocks and Shy Mama’s Halloween, which have won International Latino Book Awards, Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, and Bank Street College Best Children’s Book of the Year. Anne is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation. She lives in Portland, Oregon in a multi-generational household that also includes three cats and a dog named Clover.

Victoria Tentler-Krylov is a trained and practicing architect, as well as a children’s and editorial illustrator, who grew up in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and studied architecture and urban design at Cooper Union and Columbia University. Books she’s illustrated for children include The Cyclops of Central Park, for which she was named an Ezra Jack Keats Award Honoree. Her art has also been published in the New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, and The Boston Globe. Victoria lives in New Jersey with her family.CN

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