Out of the Shadows

by Neil Waldman

The compelling story of a torn family whose children grew up to be first-class artists will captivate young readers. How does a child grow up to become an artist? Where does the journey begin? For... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1590784111
• ISBN13: 9781590784112
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Boyds Mills Press
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.2" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 4 to 6 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 1

Customer Reviews

love that Waldman

My sister found this book, what a wonderful read about the creative journey of a great mind. It inspired me and backs up the notion of doing all we can to build our kid's creative processes.

Portrait of the children's book author as a young man

If a person wanted to tell the story of their life in a biographical format, why would they choose to make their intended audience children rather than adults? Maybe the person in question would feel that children could better appreciate their life and accomplishments. Or maybe they're unsure of their writing skills and thought that kids rather than grown-ups would be easier to write for. Maybe they are of an artistic temperament and feel that if they spotted their book with beautiful glossy illustrations, kids would gravitate more readily to that aspect of the story. And maybe they've always seen their childhood, rather than adulthood, as the part of their life with the best narrative, and unless a biography has copious amounts of abuse in it, adults aren't going to be as interested as children. For artist Neil Waldman, his motivation for writing, "Out of the Shadows: An Artist's Journey" for children may have knowingly or unknowingly have their roots in all of these reasons. The book is lovingly put together, with fantastic pieces of arts spotting the text. It is not, perhaps, the first autobiography I would hand to children that need to read one for school, but it may contain some of the best explanations on how a person truly becomes an artist. It's flawed but worthy. Neil Waldman was born in the Bronx, one of the first American-born children of his Russian/Galician immigrant relatives. At family gatherings, Neil would often have to face the inevitable question that began, "You are our family's first generations born in freedom. So what are you going to do with it? What are you going to be when you grow up?" A hard question for a child at any age, but early on little Neil hit upon what he wanted to be. An artist. When he found his mother's book of Vincent van Gogh paintings, Neil discovered a love that would last him his entire life. He needed it to. In his parents' household, growing up meant dealing with constant fighting and violent words. With his siblings, Waldman was able to cultivate his skills and become an artist in every sense of the word. In this book, Mr. Waldman continually plugs the children's books he's written over the years like, "They Came From the Bronx", and "The Starry Night". I didn't mind that. I liked how he was able to tie distinct moments from his own past into the work he would do years and years in the future. There is no distinct moment in time when the book's narrative ends. Waldman is far more interested in showing "a childhood" rather than a strict assessment of years between such n' such an age. The last glimpse into the past we get is of Waldman and his three siblings working on their art to escape their parents' fighting. It ties in rather nicely with the first image of the book, where Waldman is unable to deal with the fights and has not yet found an artistic escape route. Often it's difficult to determine when one action or event takes place in time as Waldman is not prone to li

OUT OF THE SHADOWS: AN ARTIST'S JOURNEY

Sometimes we find, in a book, a drama behind the drama. In Neil Waldman's new book, there are two such dramas, and fortunately, a comedy. First there is the ongoing battle between his mother and father--fights so ferocious that even behind closed doors they cause their children to tremble. Then there is the comedy of a charming, jovial, whimsical grandfather who could always be counted on for companionship, adventure, imagination and a certain sangfroid. And last, but most importantly, there is the development of the artistic sensibility. From where did it emanate? As a means of escape from their parents' tirades, surely; but the lyricism of the art, the inspiration, the children's proficiency, from where did they come? This is what Waldman has set out to explore and share with his many readers and admirers. His mother evidently loved art. She had brought with her on the boat from Russia, a treasured book from an art museum in Russia--"a book whose soft velvet cover and shimmering golden title drew the young boy to it like a magnet." It was in this book that he first discovered the work of Vincent Van Gogh, an artist whose oeuvre would be a lasting influence upon him. Suddenly, Neil knew this is what he wanted to do when he grew up. This encounter, however would transform the lives of all four Waldman children. They came from a family that already contained a talented artist, his aunt Jean Morris. The recognition of beauty as adventure was nourished by his Grandfather Meyer, whose accent is perfectly represented in the book, and who not only took him to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but also to the hidden wonders of Bronx Park, an island of beauty among the trolley cars and pavement of his East Bronx neighborhood. And finally, there is the art, itself, prodigiously represented in this book, art by all four Waldman children. When we wonder how did a well-known celebrity or accomplished person get from there to where he or she is today, this book affords us a marvelous insight. Written in an informal, conversational manner and enriched with full color reproductions, it is a worthy addition to anyone's library, but particularly as a gift. Ages 12 and up.

The story of four siblings who used art as a survival mechanism

How does a child evolve into an artist? Author Waldman's discovery of a mother's precious velvet art book from a Russian art museum served as the starting inspiration for him early on, introducing him to a painter whose works would change not only his life, but the lives of his siblings. Painting quickly became key to the family's survive as well as key to discovering a route away from their warring parents: here are over forty reproductions of the drawings and paintings of the Waldman family artists to accompany the story of four siblings who used art as a survival mechanism.