Marcel’s Masterpiece: How a Toilet Shaped the History of Art

This picture book biography of French artist Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968) begins with his conceptualizing 1917’s Fountain, an upside down urinal displayed in a “fancy art show” in New York. Shown in Mack’s art as a wiry, straw-boater-sporting imp, Duchamp delights in the outrage and controversy that ensues, declaring, “Well, it did get people to think about art, didn’t it?” The book’s second half looks more broadly at Duchamp and his influence, including his Readymades; his alter ego, Rrose Sélavy; and the Dada movement with which he is associated, inviting readers to regard art in terms of “what ideas help us think about our world in new and interesting ways.” Mixed-media cartooned vignettes, punctuated with collaged elements, including the laugh-out-loud text itself (about visiting Fountain, figures mention needing “to go”), strike just the right balance of headiness and breezy mischievousness for a young audience—innate connoisseurs of épater le bourgeoisie. Ages 4–8. (Aug.)