Capturing Joy: The Story of Maud Lewis
Grade 3-6 More than an account of a fascinating life, Bogart's  introduction to this Canadian painter is a lesson in  self-determination. It is the story of a young woman who,  despite multiple birth defects and the crippling effects of  rheumatoid arthritis, painstakingly created Christmas cards and  paintings showing scenes and people lovingly recollected from  her own experience. Living in a tiny house with no electricity  or indoor plumbing, Lewis painted on scraps of wood and  cardboard, using remnants of paint from fishing boats that her  husband found on his fish-peddling route. Her style is primitive  folk art, often brightly hued. The occasional addition of  impossible, but charming, detail, such as pink-and-white  blossoms on evergreens, adds whimsy to her interpretations of  life in Nova Scotia coastal towns. Each spread has a full-page  reproduction of a Lewis painting, and each text page includes a  realistic, black-and-white pencil drawing by Lang. The house in  which the couple lived-door, windows, woodstove, walls, and  stairs covered with paintings of flowers, birds, and  butterflies-now stands in the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. A  lovely and inspiring book. -Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public  Library, OHCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.