Perfect Pairing – Visits Andy Warhol

I read a recent review of the first picture book featured today (thanks, Jilanne!), but when I checked my local library’s catalog, I found another picture book by the same author that’s similar. You know what that means…

Uncle Andy’s: A faabbulous visit with Andy Warhol 

Author & Illustrator: James Warhola

Publisher/Date: G. P. Putnam’s Sons/2003

Ages: 4-8

Themes: pop art, family, artistic influences, humor

Short Synopsis (from Goodreads):

When James Warhola was a little boy, his father had a junk business that turned their yard into a wonderful play zone that his mother didn’t fully appreciate! But whenever James and his family drove to New York City to visit Uncle Andy, they got to see how “junk” could become something truly amazing in an artist’s hands.

Uncle Andy’s offers an exciting and unique perspective on one of the most influential artists of our time. Through James’ eyes, we see the things that made his family visits memorable-including the wonderful disarray of Andy’s house, waking up surrounded by important art and incredible collected objects, trying on Andy’s wigs, sharing the run of Andy’s house with his twenty-five cats (all named Sam), and getting art supplies from Andy as a goodbye present. James was lucky enough to learn about art from an innovative master and he shows how these visits with Uncle Andy taught him about the creative process and inspired him to become an artist.

Read a review at Jilanne Hoffmann’s blog.

Uncle Andy’s Cats

Author & Illustrator: James Warhola

Publisher/Date: G. P. Putnam’s Sons/2009

Ages:  4-8

Themes: cats, problem-solving, pop art, humor

Short Synopsis (from Goodreads):

It all started with a little blue cat named Hester. Then along came Sam, and it was love at first sight — and lots of little Sams! While the cats are perfectly happy stampeding through Uncle Andy’s art studio and frolicking among his soup boxes, the humans know things have to change. So Uncle Andy devises a brilliant plan to make his cats famous — and easier to find homes for. James Warhola’s childhood memories of trips to New York City to visit his uncle, Andy Warhol, inspired this warm, funny story of the famous artist’s house full of cats. Kids will pore over the illustrations trying to spot all the Sams, as well as some very clever mice.

Read a review at Kirkus Reviews.

I paired these books because they are by the same author/illustrator, both are based on visits with his famous uncle, artist Andy Warhol, but they highlight different aspects of the author’s and Warhol’s lives. In Uncle Andy, the narrator, a young boy, describes a particular visit to his uncle’s house in New York City and the awe and wonder experienced  by a young child from a rural, hectic family along with the reactions of Warhol, who lived an artist’s life in the city. In Uncle Andy’s Cats, Warhola shifts the focus to be more on Warhol. Warhola tells the story of how his famous uncle and his grandmother acquired too many cats, but then Uncle Andy solved the problem using his artistic skills. Both are based on fact. For a fascinating history of the book of cat prints that Warhol published, see Fully Feline.