Victoria Crenson

One of a series, this book consists of a series of narratives about growing up in America, accompanied by selections of Norman Rockwell's art. I found myself glossing over the narratives, and it's not clear to me whether they are written by guest writers or the credited author, Victoria Crenson. The draw here is Rockwell's art. I don't really understand those who dismiss him as a mere illustrator. To me, he was an artist who told stories with his art. I don't see that he particularly idealized America through his art either, another charge frequently leveled against him. Even his works from before my birth seem familiar to me; they present situations and emotions that are near-universal. My favorites here are: "Breaking Home Ties", about a college-bound young man waiting at the bus stop with his farmer father, and is the "Saturday Evening Post" cover for the day I was born. This is probably my favorite Rockwell. Others are "Girl At Mirror", in which a young and spindly girl dolefully surveys herself in the mirror, a movie star picture in her lap, and "The Marriage License", which shows a young couple at the clerk's office filling out a marriage license, and manages to convey the excited optimism of a couple in love starting their lives together, and the jaded amusement of the clerk who has seen the same scene a thousand times.… (meer)