Girls Standing on Lawns is a unique collaboration between renowned
artist and bestselling children's book author Maira Kalman and New York
Times bestselling writer Daniel Handler, better known as Lemony
Snicket. This clever book contains 40 vintage photographs from the
collection of The Museum of Modern Art, New York, more than a dozen
original paintings by Kalman inspired by the photographs, and brief,
lyrical texts by Handler. Poetic and thought-provoking, Girls Standing
on Lawns is a meditation on memories, childhood, nostalgia, home,
family, and the act of seeing. The gorgeous visual material sets the
stage for what Handler succinctly describes as "a photograph, a
painting, a sentence, a pose." Girls, women, families, and even pets
from days gone by grace the pages, looking out at us, enticing readers
to imagine these people, their lives--and where they have gone.
Praise for Girls Standing on Lawns
"Kalman supplements the mostly black-and-white, anonymous, amateur
snapshots with colorful paintings inspired by the photographs. Handler
adds alternately wry, pithy, poignant--and always succinct--commentary
to most spreads, inviting readers to ponder the people and scenes as
well as their own family photos."
--Booklist
"Handler provides free verse that is both spare and sparse throughout
the collection, contextualizing the thematic groupings and offering
imaginative insight into what might have motivated the preservation of
such frozen moments. The project is interesting and the images thought
provoking."
--The Bulletin of The Center for Children's Books
