Waterlife

Gr 3 Up—As an object, this book is exquisitely executed. Consisting of gorgeous prints of water life paired with brief reflections by the artist, the physical texture of the book-from the cloth cover to the handmade paper pages-serves as a rich complement to the visual texture of the silk-screened images. Jha presents his own interpretations of the traditional motifs found in Mithila art, a pattern-rich form of folk painting from the Bihar region of eastern India. The audience for this art book is somewhat unclear as the volume has no cohesive narrative and the artist's notes on what inspired the images or how the artistic decisions were made are not informative enough to be educational. However, it could have a place in art curriculums as style inspiration or as an exhibition of one artist's work, especially where there is a need for multicultural art. Although this book's limited appeal makes it an additional purchase for most libraries, it is indeed a work of art.—Anna Haase Krueger, Antigo Public Library, WI