Flying Paintings: The Zhou Brothers: A Story of Revolution and Art by Amy Alznauer, DaHuang Zhou, ShanZuo Zhou
Published by Candlewick Press on September 1, 2020
ISBN: 1536204285
Pages: 48
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
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This picture book biography, published in 2020, details the “beautiful and the terrible” of the world-renowned artists’ lives in a clear and engaging way.  Whether playing, fighting, creating or going their own ways, the two brothers carry with them the love and wisdom of their Po Po’s stories.  They lived through Chairman Mao’s oppression of their family’s bookstore and their own art to come together and begin a new journey of painting together.  The illustrations are rendered by the artists themselves which holds more meaning to the survivalist story.   The time frame and the content may be the focus of more high school level study, but this picture book provides a useful introduction to both the time period and the art that is accessible for grades 3-6.

Reviewed by Sheila Dube, Youth Services Librarian, Springvale Public Library