Picture This: Georgia in Hawaii

Georgia in Hawaii by Amy Novesky, illustrated by Yuyi Morales

In 1939 the Hawaiian Pineapple Company invited Georgia O'Keefe to come visit Hawaii. The company hoped that she would paint pineapples, but when they refused to let her live close to the fields and the workers, sending her baskets of picked pineapples instead, Georgia became frustrated. She did not want to follow the orders of the company. So instead she painted what she wanted to paint when she wanted to paint: waterfalls, fishhooks, the ocean, plumerias, etc.

The story is told simply, with lush, vibrant illustrations by Yuyi Morales bringing it all to life. Morales successfully evokes O'Keefe while maintaining the illustrations as her own. Even the endpages are lovely, with illustrations of Hawaiian flowers. I wish there were images of the actual O'Keefe tableaus in the notes at the end (especially of the pineapple). A beautiful book. get a taste here.