The True Ugly Duckling: How Hans Christian Andersen Became a Swan by Sandra Nickel, illustrated by Calvin Nicholls (Levine Querido, 32 pages, grades K-3). Hans Christian Andersen’s life is presented as a story that parallels his ugly duckling fairy tale. As a child growing up in a small town, he spent his days making up stories and creating costumes to act them out. While a few townspeople were kind, most made fun of him, and young Hans headed to the city of Copenhagen as soon as he could. There, he tried to make it as an actor, dancer, and singer, but he failed at each of these endeavors. Finally, a play he wrote caught the eye of a director who sent him to school. Teachers there made him put aside his storytelling in favor of Latin and history. After six long years, he was able to return to his stories, and although adults found them strange, children loved them. Hans Christian Andersen’s stories and cut paper illustrations earned him a place among the royalty of Copenhagen, and those stories live on today. Includes an author’s note with additional information about Andersen, including how her own autism drew her to write about the storyteller, who likely had both autism and Marfan syndrome.

This lightly fictionalized account of Hans Christian Andersen’s life would make a good introduction to a study of his work, with both biographical information and references to some of his well-known stories. The cut-paper illustrations are beautiful and mirror Andersen’s own work with paper.

Piece by Piece: How Stephen Sondheim Made Musical Puzzles Come Alive by Erin Frankel, illustrated by Stacy Innerst (Calkins Creek, 40 pages, grades 2-5). Growing up in New York City, Stephen Sondheim was a curious kid who liked to figure out how things worked. When he saw his first musical, he was completely captivated by how the different pieces–music, story, dance–all fit together. After his parents split up, he and his mother moved to Pennsylvania, where he made a new friend Jamie, whose father, Oscar Hammerstein II, became Stephen’s mentor. Stephen wrote his first musical, By George, when he was 15. After college, he got a lucky break when he was offered the role of lyricist for the new musical West Side Story. That brought him enough recognition to start creating his own musicals, and Stephen Sondheim became a Broadway legend. Includes an author’s note, photos, a timeline of Sondheim’s life, and a bibliography.

Another good book for introducing the work of an artist, with a short enough story to easily read aloud but plenty of allusions to Sondheim plays in both the text and illustrations. The puzzle metaphor felt a little forced to me, but it did give me a deeper appreciation for all the parts of a musical that have to work together.

Blues Boy: The B.B. King Story by Alice Faye Duncan, illustrated by Carl Joe Williams (Greenwillow Books, 40 pages, grades 2-5). Young Riley King’s life in Mississippi during the Great Depression gave him plenty of material for singing the blues. His mother died when he was 9; he lived with his grandmother until she passed away when he was 15. He was bullied for his stutter and had to go to work in the cotton fields at a young age. But hearing blues records as a young teen inspired him to learn guitar and eventually choose a music career over the steady paycheck of a farm worker. Making his way to Memphis, he acquired a new name of Blues Boy, eventually shortened to B.B., and had his first hit in 1951 with “Three O’Clock Blues.” Following his mother’s advice to “do good and treat folks right,” B.B. soared to success, playing his blues music across the country 300 days a year. Includes a timeline, additional information, places to visit, and lists of books and music.

This biography of B.B. King shows the influences of his early life on his music, not only his tough personal life as a kid, but the effects of growing up in the Jim Crow South. Readers will be inspired to seek out “Three O’Clock Blues” as well as the other songs suggested in the playlist.

Copland: A Story About America by Veronica Mang (Viking Books for Young Readers, 40 pages, grades 2-5). The youngest of five children born to Russian immigrants in Brooklyn, Aaron Copland grew up with the music of New York City, jazz records, the klezmer sounds of the synagogue, and his sister’s piano. He particularly loved the piano and started his studies in Manhattan, moving to Paris at the age of 21, where he learned new ways of making music and looking at the world. Returning to New York, Aaron focused on making music that sounded like America. He was inspired by jazz and folk music, as well as by the protests and social movements of the 1930’s. He believed that his compositions for movies were just as important as those performed in Carnegie Hall. Aaron’s music still invites listeners to think about their dreams for America and a better future. Includes additional information and photos, an author’s note, suggested listening for kids, and a bibliography.

This biography does a nice job of celebrating Aaron Copland’s life and his vision for creating a uniquely American music. The illustrations capture scenes from Copland’s personal life as well as the America he lived in. Both books would make great introductions before sharing King’s or Copland’s music with kids.

Houdini’s Library: How Books Created the World’s Greatest Magician by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Mar Delmar (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 48 pages, grades 2-5). As the son of a rabbi, Erik Weisz loved poring over his father’s collection of books. After the family moved from Hungary to the U.S., they fell on hard times, and Erik’s dad had to sell off his library. Young Erik (or Ehrie, as he was known in America) used the money he made working in a factory to buy his own books. A ten-cent book by Jean Robert-Houdin, Father of Modern Magic, changed his life, and he started collecting books that taught him how to do magic. The rest is early-twentieth-century-magic history, as Ehrie Weisz became Harry Houdini, master magician and escape artist. He used the money he made from that career to build a vast library of books and other memorabilia related to magic and was a voracious reader all his life. Includes an author’s note with additional information and photos of Houdini and an illustrator’s note about how she made the cut-paper illustrations.

Harry Houdini’s life and career are always fascinating to read about, and this biography really humanizes him, focusing on his early struggles and the way books launched his career and helped lift him out of poverty. The illustrations are truly amazing works of art, magically capturing both Houdini’s amazing stunts and his vast collection of books.

Marie’s Magic Eggs: How Marie Procai Kept the Ukrainian Art of Pysanky Alive by Sandra Neil Wallace, illustrated by Evan Turk (Calkins Creek, 48 pages, grades 2-5). As a child growing up in a Ukrainian village, Marie Procai loved making pysanky eggs with her grandmother every Easter. But when war and famine came to Ukraine, Marie followed her older brothers to North America. She settled in Minneapolis, where she married, raised a family, and learned how to continue the pysanky egg tradition in her Ukrainian community. When her son was killed in World War II, Marie channeled her grief into helping Ukrainian refugees and continuing her art. She and her family went on to open the Ukrainian Gift Shop, first in her living room and later in a Minneapolis store, where she sold pysanky eggs, supplies, and her own books about how to make the eggs. Her art reflects the legend that as long as pysanky are decorated, there will be good in the world. Includes an author’s note about her own connection to pysanky eggs through her Ukrainian heritage, plus additional information about Marie and pysanky, with photos, a pronunciation guide, a playlist, a list of museums and festivals that feature pysanky, and a bibliography.

Just in time for springtime and Easter, this fascinating biography shows how Marie Procai brought her art and love for all things Ukrainian to her adopted homeland, using it to build a community and help other immigrants. Evan Turk’s illustrations bring the eggs in all their colorful glory to rich, vibrant life.

Making Art by Diana Ejaita (Rise x Penguin Workshop, 32 pages, ages 4-8). “Let’s look around and make some art,” begins this introduction to all different aspects of art. You can make new things or create from old things. It’s important to listen to your feelings, and those feelings can be communicated through your art. It can be difficult (and frustrating) to come up with ideas for your art, but then sometimes inspiration will strike like magic! Works of art can be given away or kept as a gift to yourself. No matter what, art adds beauty to the world, so thank you for your art!

This introduction to art could be used for anyone from a preschool class exploring art for the first time to a group of retirees rediscovering their creativity. The message is simple, yet wise and universal, and invites anyone to use art to express themselves. The illustrations portray a wide range of visual arts, as well as music, dance, and writing.

A Knot Is Not a Tangle by Daniel Nayeri, illustrated by Vesper Stamper (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 48 pages, grades 1 and up). A boy narrates the process of creating a Persian rug with his grandmother in Iran. “All of this takes weeks, but in my memory, it’s one long wonderful day.” In that day from his memory, he and his grandmother wash, card, and spin wool that his grandfather has sheared from their sheep. They dye it and plan the pattern and colors for the new rug on graph paper, then finally start knotting on the loom. The boy keeps wanting perfection, but his grandmother reminds him that the most important part of their rug is that it will become a place for the family to gather, just like the old one that they’re replacing has been. She even pulls one knot out, the “Persian flaw,” symbolizing that that there is no such thing as perfection. Finally, the new rug is done, and the old one gets moved underneath the loom, and “It feels just right to have it there.” Includes an author’s note with additional information on Persian rugs.

Award-winning author Daniel Nayeri has crafted a beautiful picture book celebrating an art form that will be new to many readers. The illustrations do a great job of showing the process of knotting–although, I’ll be honest, I still don’t really get it, but this may whet readers’ appetites to dig deeper. The message about tempering perfectionist tendencies is delivered gently by a wise grandmother who clearly values her heritage and enjoys passing it on to her grandson.

Can You Imagine? The Art and Life of Yoko Ono by Lisa Tolin, illustrated by Yas Imamura (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 48 pages, grades 2-5). Yoko Ono spent her childhood moving between Japan and the U.S. during a time when she felt unwelcome in both places. After enduring wartime hardships in Japan, she moved permanently to the United States, where she studied art and music. Refusing to embrace norms in either field, she explored her own ways of creating art, which often involved audience participation designed to provoke thoughts and ideas. Her greatest fame came after she met and married John Lennon, when racism, misogyny, and the idea that she broke up the Beatles unleashed waves of public hatred toward her. After Lennon’s murder, Ono has continued to create art while working to preserve her husband’s legacy. Includes quite a bit of additional information about Yoko Ono and her art, as well as a bibliography.

I confess I grew up with a pretty negative impression of Yoko Ono, having absorbed the “she broke up the Beatles” message, but my daughter, an episode of the You’re Wrong About podcast, and now this beautiful book have helped me to see her in a completely different light. She had a pretty horrific childhood but instead of being broken by it, she emerged resilient and with a desire to work for peace through her art. It’s pretty clear that the Beatles broke themselves up, and this book focuses on the positive aspects of the Lennon-Oko collaboration. I’m grateful that this talented author-illustrator team continues the revisionist history, although it may be more appreciated by adults than children.