Starred Kirkus Review for A Line Can Go Anywhere

​I am very excited about this glowing review from Kirkus. This book has been such a long time in the making with so many hiccups along the way, but all along I knew/ felt it was special.  ​


A LINE CAN GO ANYWHERETHE BRILLIANT, RESILIENT LIFE OF ARTIST RUTH ASAWA
by Caroline McAlister ; illustrated by Jamie Green ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 25, 2025
A title worth moving to the head of the line.

An artist grappled with boundaries.
Growing up in California, Ruth Aiko Asawa (1926-2013) was keenly aware of an “invisible line” separating her life at home, where she was called Aiko, from school, where she was known as Ruth—though “she could cross back and forth or even straddle it if she had to.” This beautifully wrought metaphor for a bicultural Japanese American experience is echoed throughout the book: in the lines a young Asawa drew in the dirt at her family farm and the way she lined up for the Pledge of Allegiance at school. The most important lines, however, were those she made as an artist, especially when creativity sustained her while she and other Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II. She studied to become an art teacher, but “because she looked like the enemy, her college wouldn’t place her at a school.” She persevered and, after the war, found her way to Black Mountain College in North Carolina. Drawing inspiration from Mexican wire baskets and memories of barbed wire at the camps, Asawa was driven by the conviction that “art is for everyone.” Infused with emotion, the unflinchingly honest text and exquisite mixed-media art, which layers dazzling pops of blue onto muted backdrops, detail the oppression Asawa faced—and her resilience. An informative author’s note provides additional context for this story of an innovative artist whose legacy of democratizing the arts is utterly inspirational.
A title worth moving to the head of the line. (photograph, bibliography) (Picture-book biography. 7-11)
Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2025
ISBN: 9781250310378

Page Count: 40
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025

Categories:
CHILDREN'S BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | CHILDREN'S HISTORY