In "Faith Ringgold," author Robyn Montana Turner has assembled a superb introduction to the artist for whom the book is named. Turner combines a well-written biography of Ringgold with a wealth of photographs from all phases of the artist's life, full-color reproductions of many of her classic creations, and other interesting materials.

An African-American artist who blends African, African-American, and European themes and techniques in her work, Ringgold is a fascinating multicultural creator. This book gives the reader a good sense of the journey she has taken towards her comprehensive artistic vision. It is fascinating, for example, to see a reproduction of da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" together with Ringgold's mixed-media portrayal of African-American children dancing in front of "Mona Lisa" at the Louvre museum in France. Turner's "Faith Ringgold" is a visually stunning book which just may inspire a few artists of the next generation.

Of the various juvenile books devoted to the life and art of Georgia O'Keefe, this volume by Robyn Montana Turner, is the most determined attempt to explain the artist. Turner uses a few of O'Keefe's most famous paintings, such as "Cow's Skull: Red, White, and Blue," but is more interested in pivotal paintings that reflect her evolving style. This includes several early works from her art student days and means you will see "Oriental Poppies" rather than "Petunia" or "Morning Glory with Black." Because of this focus on the development of O'Keefe as a painter, the biographical details of her life are important only as they introduced the artist to people and places that become important to her paintings. Consequently, this book is really a step or two beyond a basic Art Appreciation type of introduction to O'Keefe's work. This book is the first in the "Portraits of Women Artists for Children" series, although certainly Turner aims higher than what is commonly meant by that designation. This is not a book for kids, nor is it a book for people with only a passing interest in art. This is a serious attempt to explain the uniqueness of a major American artist and a great book to turn to after receiving a basic introduction to O'Keefe from something like Mike Venezia's volume in the "Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists" series.