World of Glass: The Art of Dale Chihuly by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan
Reviewed By: Alice Mitchell, Youth Services Manager
Genre: Nonfiction
Suggested Age: Kids (Ages 7-12)
What is This Book About? “To this day, I have never gotten over the excitement of molten glass…” (p. 14)
Dale Chihuly started his life in Washington drawing with crayons, exploring gardens with his mom, and searching for sea glass on the beach, and grew up to be one of the most notable glass blowers in the world. He is notable not just for his non-traditional techniques but also the color and texture he puts into his work as he finds inspiration from organic materials and gardens. His work has been displayed in cities and gardens across the country and as far as Israel and Japan. This book walks kids through his life’s story, telling them about how he struggled at points until he found his passion in blowing glass, and pivoted whenever he experienced a set-back in his art. There are lots of photos of his colorful and expressive work, and the back matter has a list of places you can visit to see his art in person.
My Review: My parents took me to see one of Chihuly’s installations at the Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago as a kid, and I’ve been in love with his glass work ever since. When I first picked up this book, all I did was page through it looking at the photos of his amazing glass sculptures. From the first page, Greenberg and Jordan paint Chihuly as an artist who genuinely cares about his work, gains inspiration from the natural environment, and wants to learn from artists around the world. I learned a lot about his early life and his personal struggles – most people are familiar with him and his eyepatch as a result of a car accident, but I didn’t know that he also has bipolar disorder. He decided to come forward about it because seeing a person with bipolar disorder be so successful “might be helpful for other people.” (p. 49) This book did a great job of teaching me about how unique Chihuly’s art is, and encouraging me to look at the environment differently (and maybe to go visit the Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle).
Three Words that Describe this Book: nature, glass blowing, inspirational
Give This A Try if You Like… Netflix’s Blown Away, books about creative gardening, crafts using objects found in nature, artist biographies
Rating: 5/5
