A Sweet Children's Book with Beautiful Illustrations

If you are looking for children's book that is both educational and beautifully illustrated, you need this book A Portrait in Poems: The Storied Life of Gertrude Stein & Alice B. Toklas by Evie Robillard and illustrated by Rachel Katstaller.  

Introduce your children, or yourself for that matter, to the life of Gertrude Stein. This sweet book is full of soft and soothing illustrations and gentle words. The story tells the tale of Gertrude's life and legacy. You will find a few quotes from her works of poetry, her longer works, and a few personal quotes, sprinkled throughout the pages of the book. 

This quote says, "I am a pretty good housekeeper and a pretty good gardener and a pretty good needle woman and a pretty good secretary and a pretty good editor and a pretty food vet for dogs and I have to do them all at once." 

-Gertrude Stein, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas

 This book perfectly captures Gertrude Stein's relationship with Pablo Picasso and how he painted the first Cubist portrait of none other than Gerturde Stein herself. Gertude and her brother with both art collectors and she had such a vast collection of art that people would come to her home to see the beautiful works she had collected over the years. 

While the book doesn't shy away from including Gertrude's relationship with Alice B. Toklas, the story refers to Alice simply as Gertrude's "partner." The book doesn't imply that Gertrude and Alice were anything more than best friends and roommates. 

Warning: The book does discuss Gertude's death and how Alice mourned for her. If you or your children are sensitive to the subject of due to the loss of a loved one, or if you aren't sure your child is ready to discuss the effects of death, you may want to skip that part of the book. 

 

Even though death can be a difficult topic, this book discusses the reality of it in a way that may make this book a great way to introduce the topic of death to your children if you are looking to do so. 

I've included this quick flip through so you can see the true beauty of this book!

Note: I've provided links to some of the items mentioned in this post and these are things, (or similar items) that I have used and enjoyed. If you choose to purchase these items from Amazon, that's great, but just know that I do not expect you do. I buy most of my items second-hand and I hope you can do the same. I've included links to certain items so you can gather more information about the products I'm referring to or you may purchase them new if you wish. Rest assured; I do not earn any commission from your purchases on Amazon for the items I've provided links to.