A Young Painter: The Life and Paintings of Wang Yani-- China's Extraordinary Young Artist

The unique talents of a Chinese child prodigy are illuminated in this account of her still-burgeoning career. At the age of three Yani proclaimed, ``I want to paint and paint'' and proceeded to produce playful renderings of monkeys that astounded her family and the art world. By her 10th birthday Yani had held solo exhibitions of her fresh and energetic works in major cities all over the world. The book's cohesive text is peppered with anecdotes that offer a glimpse of Yani's personality and her mostly commonplace home life, while high-quality full-color reproductions of her paintings fill a substantial number of pages. Explanations of Yani's technique and materials--she paints entirely from memory and uses traditional Chinese inks and rice papers--are engrossing and not overly technical. Zhensun and Low portray Yani as introspective and likable but not terribly approachable; their writing leads readers to admire her from a respectful distance. Budding artists will find a wealth of inspiration here, but all readers will relish viewing Yani's paintings and marvel at her extraordinary gift. All ages. (Oct.)