Cloth Lullaby: the woven life of Louise Bourgeois
Publisher: Abrams
This beautiful picture book is a biography of 20th-century artist Louise Bourgeois. It tells the story of her childhood and its influence on her work.
The tale is rich with poetic language and a gentle, hypnotic rhythm - perfect for reading out loud. However, there is the odd difficult word, so younger readers may need a little guidance through the story.
Those readers may also find the drawings of Louise Bourgeois's giant spider sculptures - her most famous work - a little scary. But the story does give them context, explaining the insect's web-spinning artistry, and how they represent Bourgeois's mother. An 'artists' note' at the back of the book also gives greater detail.
The real star of the book, however, is Isabelle Arsenault's illustrations. Every page is full of lines and swirls that subtly show how everything is connected like thread - especially our present to our past.
