Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas

by Jeanne Walker Harvey, Loveis Wise (Illustrator)

Overview

Celebrate the life-changing power of art in this inspiring and stunningly illustrated picture book biography of American artist Alma Thomas.

Meet an incredible woman who broke down barriers throughout her whole life and is now known as one of the most preeminent painters of the twentieth century. Told from the point of view of young Alma Thomas, readers can follow along as she grows into her discovery of the life-changing power of art.

As a child in Georgia, Alma Thomas loved to spend time outside, soaking up the colors around her. And her parents filled their home with color and creativity despite the racial injustices they faced. After the family moved to Washington, DC, Alma shared her passion for art by teaching children. When she was almost seventy years old, she focused on her own artwork, inspired by nature and space travel.

In this celebration of art and the power of imagination, Jeanne Walker Harvey and Loveis Wise tell the incredible true story of Alma Thomas, the first Black woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum in New York City and to have her work chosen for the White House collection. With her bold and vibrant abstract paintings, Alma set the world ablaze with color.

Ablaze with Color includes extensive back matter with photos, an author’s and illustrator’s note, a timeline, and a list of sources and resources that will be a great tool for parents, educators, and librarians. Perfect for Women’s History Month and Black History Month units alongside such favorites as Malala's Magic Pencil, Hidden Figures, and Mae Among the Stars.

• A NAACP IMAGE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING LITERARY CHILDREN'S WORK NOMINEE!
• A JANE ADDAMS CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARD FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN 2023 FINALIST!
• A SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF 2022!
• A NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 2022 BEST BOOK FOR KIDS!
• A CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST INFORMATIONAL BOOKS FOR YOUNGER READERS OF 2022!
• A NERDY BOOK CLUB 2022 BEST NONFICTION BOOK!
• A CCBC BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR, 2023!
• A CHARTER OAK CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARD NONFICTION NOMINEE!
• A 2022 CALIBA GOLDEN POPPY AWARD FINALIST!
• A 2023 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA BOOK AWARD (NCBA) IN CHILDREN'S BOOKS: YOUNGER READERS NOMINEE!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063021891
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/22/2022
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	55,630
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jeanne Walker Harvey has been a longtime docent at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Just like Alma Thomas, Jeanne believes that art brings us joy. Her other picture books include Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines and My Hands Sing the Blues: Romare Bearden’s Childhood Journey. Jeanne studied literature and psychology at Stanford University. She lives in Northern California. Visit her online at www.jeanneharvey.com.

Loveis Wise is an illustrator and designer from Washington, DC. They are currently based in Los Angeles, and their work often speaks to themes of joy and liberation. Loveis has illustrated two books: The People Remember and Ablaze with Color. More of their work can be found through the New Yorker, Google, Adobe, and the New York Times.

Editorial Reviews

01/10/2022

This bright profile centers Alma Woodsey Thomas (1891–1978), who broke ground as the first Black woman to have a solo exhibition at New York City’s Whitney Museum and to have artwork displayed in the White House. Harvey employs a poetic voice, rich with alliteration and rhythm, as the narrative follows Thomas through a creative childhood (“Her aunts painted petals and patterns,/ and Alma dipped her brush in tiny pots”); a move from Georgia to Washington, D.C.; years teaching art in segregated schools; an eventual shift to focus on her own art at almost 70 years old; and resulting accomplishments. Wise’s fluid digital art employs vivid strokes, patterns, colors, and reproductions that pay winning homage to Thomas in this comprehensive biography of a celebrated, trailblazing 20th-century painter. Back matter includes creators’ notes, photographs, and a timeline of Alma’s life alongside events in the U.S. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

This charming biography’s title describes not only Alma Thomas' signature paintings but the book’s radiant artwork, which emphasizes how the colors of the natural world inspired her unusual, iconic works. Neatly encapsulating a long life that saw social and personal upheaval, as well as gorgeously showcasing the art produced along the way and the natural world that inspired it, this title is a must for art and biography shelves. — Booklist (starred review)

In clear language and straightforward presentation, the author (Maya Lin) focuses on Thomas’s family’s intellectual ambitions and support of her aspirations, her love of nature and education, and her determination and persistence in the face of societal obstacles. Wise celebrates Thomas’s work with saturated, page-filling, vibrant color; the rich, flat, atmospheric compositions fit Thomas’s tessellated style and high-key colors. An inspiring introduction for artists and appreciators, as individuals or shared in groups. — School Library Journal (starred review)

This superb picture-book biography profiles Alma Thomas (1891–1978), the first Black woman to have art displayed in the White House’s permanent collection. Harvey’s (Maya Lin, rev. 7/17) poetic text is imagistic and deftly paced; Wise’s (The People Remember, rev. 11/21) digital artwork is boldly, fittingly colorful. — Horn Book (starred review)

The text achieves a fine balance of evocative lyricism and straightforward exposition. Wise’s vibrant, eye-catching illustrations contain echoes of Thomas’ signature abstract style, with its colorful mosaic-like patterns and tessellated brush strokes. Uplifting with hope and ablaze with joyous colors! — Kirkus Reviews

That “Alma did not live to see the momentous day—when the first Black president and First Lady chose Alma’s painting as the first artwork by a Black woman to be displayed in the White House” closes her story with a single bittersweet episode in a tour de force career. Wise’s digital art pops with color and features slightly abstracted figures, mirroring but never mimicking Thomas’ visual explosion of hues. — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

From the Publisher

This superb picture-book biography profiles Alma Thomas (1891–1978), the first Black woman to have art displayed in the White House’s permanent collection. Harvey’s (Maya Lin, rev. 7/17) poetic text is imagistic and deftly paced; Wise’s (The People Remember, rev. 11/21) digital artwork is boldly, fittingly colorful.

Horn Book (starred review)

This charming biography’s title describes not only Alma Thomas' signature paintings but the book’s radiant artwork, which emphasizes how the colors of the natural world inspired her unusual, iconic works. Neatly encapsulating a long life that saw social and personal upheaval, as well as gorgeously showcasing the art produced along the way and the natural world that inspired it, this title is a must for art and biography shelves.

Booklist (starred review)

That “Alma did not live to see the momentous day—when the first Black president and First Lady chose Alma’s painting as the first artwork by a Black woman to be displayed in the White House” closes her story with a single bittersweet episode in a tour de force career. Wise’s digital art pops with color and features slightly abstracted figures, mirroring but never mimicking Thomas’ visual explosion of hues.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

★ 02/01/2022

PreS-Gr 4—Harvey rectifies an enormous wrong with this spirited biography of Black painter Alma Thomas (1891–1978), who is not nearly as renowned as she ought to be. In clear language and straightforward presentation, the author (Maya Lin) focuses on Thomas's family's intellectual ambitions and support of her aspirations, her love of nature and education, and her determination and persistence in the face of societal obstacles. Thomas's selflessness as a teacher clearly equaled her love of art: "Through color, I have sought to concentrate on beauty and happiness, rather than on man's inhumanity to man." Although midway through the book readers learn that she spent her adult life in Washington, DC, only by consulting the useful back matter do they find, for example, where Thomas was born (via a cleverly constructed time line). The handful of references include two books for older readers, complementing this one for the young. Wise celebrates Thomas's work with saturated, page-filling, vibrant color; the rich, flat, atmospheric compositions fit Thomas's tesselated style and high-key colors better than Obiora N. Anekwe's Alma's Dream. Though Thomas made most of her paintings after age 70, the concept of aging in these pages is not literal, but more stylized and impressionistic. VERDICT An inspiring introduction for artists and appreciators, as individuals or shared in groups —Patricia D. Lothrop

School Library Journal

2021-12-16
Despite her era’s racial segregation and prejudice, African American artist and art teacher Alma Thomas blazed a colorful trail.

Growing up in the early 1900s, young Alma was drawn to “the sparkling colors of nature” around her family’s large Victorian house in Columbus, Georgia. As the story recounts, she spurned the domestic pursuits her sisters embraced, longing instead “to make things, / things she could hold.” So, she started creating pottery using clay from the banks of the stream behind her childhood home. Due to racial injustice, the Thomas children weren’t allowed to attend the schools, museums, or library in their town; nevertheless, their home was filled with books and learning, and creativity as well. When Alma was 15, her family moved to Washington, D.C., where she studied art in college and then taught art at a local school. The story goes on to describe Thomas’ tireless efforts to increase access to art for the Black students in her community and her many groundbreaking achievements both as an educator and as an artist, including being the first Black woman to have a solo museum exhibition in America. The text achieves a fine balance of evocative lyricism and straightforward exposition. Wise’s vibrant, eye-catching illustrations contain echoes of Thomas’ signature abstract style, with its colorful mosaiclike patterns and tessellated brush strokes. Most characters are Black; a few illustrations include diverse representation.

Uplifting with hope and ablaze with joyous colors! (author's note, illustrator's note, timeline, sources, references) (Picture-book biography. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews