Jeanne Walker Harvey, illus. by Dow Phumiruk. Holt/Ottaviano,
$17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-250-11249-1
Harvey (My Hands Sing the Blues) and debut illustrator Phumiruk recount the career of architect Maya Lin, using a textual and visual sparseness that echoes Lin’s minimalist style. Harvey introduces Lin as an observant child with an eye for form, structure, and the interplay of light. While in college, Lin entered the Vietnam Memorial design contest, which required including the names of almost 58,000 dead or missing soldiers: “These rules rang true to Maya. She knew the power of names.” Harvey provides just enough biographical details to give a sense of Lin’s life, including touching on the initial backlash against her design for the memorial, while Phumiruk’s muted artwork, assembled digitally, makes good use of watercolor and corrugated textures to evoke the inspiration Lin drew from nature. Ages 4–8. Agent: Deborah Warren, East West Literary. (May)"