Curve & Flow: The Elegant Vision of L.A. Architect Paul R. Williams

Loney emphasizes perseverance in this detailed account of Paul R. Williams’s (1894–1980) path to “Architect to the Stars.” Williams began drawing buildings as a child, but while he could “see his future as clearly as a blueprint,” others warned that finding success as a Black architect would be impossible. After crashing “right into the big stone wall of racism,” Williams finds ways to “curve and flow” around it, winning contests, opening his own firm, and starting a bank for the Black community. Using historical language, Loney lays bare the injustice and prejudice Williams encounters in designing structures he’s not allowed to enter as a patron, and erecting homes in neighborhoods he must leave before sundown. Mallett’s painterly digital renderings have a soft-edged Hollywood glow as they depict Williams working toward his dream; when the subject joins a top architectural firm, he appears among rubble (“Take that, stone wall!”). An author’s note, photos, sources, and timeline conclude. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)