Drawing on Walls

A 2021 Rainbow Book List selectionA New York Public Library Best Book for Kids of 2020A Washington Post Best Children's Book of 2020A Kirkus Best Picture-Book Biography of 2020A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Pick of 2020A 2021 Capitol Choices Noteworthy Book for Children2020 Eureka! Nonfiction Children’s Book Gold AwardA 2022 Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List selectionI would love to be a teacher because I love children and I think that not enough people respect children or understand how important they are. I have done many projects with children of all ages. —Keith HaringTruly devoted to the idea of public art, Haring created murals wherever he went.From Matthew Burgess, the much-acclaimed author of Enormous Smallness, comes Drawing on Walls: A Story of Keith Haring. Often seen drawing in white chalk on the matte black paper of unused advertising space in the subway, Haring’s iconic pop art and graffiti-like style transformed the New York City underground in the 1980s. A member of the LGBTQ community, Haring died tragically at the age of thirty-one from AIDS-related complications. Illustrated in paint by Josh Cochran, himself a specialist in bright, dense, conceptual drawings, this honest, celebratory book honors Haring’s life and art, along with his very special connection with kids. 

"Thirty years after Keith Haring’s death of AIDS-related complications, this vibrant picture book brings the iconic pop artist’s work and story to the hearts of a new generation. Often featuring a bold black line, Cochran’s painterly illustrations drive the narrative—bursting with movement and color—utilizing a wide variety of perspectives and both spot and full-bleed illustrations to dance around the text in a suitably neo-expressionist tribute to the subject. Stylized and simplified figures fill the pages with smiling faces in a broad spectrum of skin tones and body types, opening the door on Haring’s passionately held belief that “Art is for everybody.” Without erasing or dwelling on any particular aspect of Haring’s personal life, author Burgess outlines Haring’s relationships with art, with children, and with his partner, Juan DuBose, in straightforward, accessible language—from his childhood in Pennsylvania to his “final mark” in Pisa, Italy (five months before his death)—with the same bold honesty and vibrance visible in his subject’s art career. Biographical, author’s, and illustrator’s notes back up the book, supplementing the broad strokes of the text with finer detail and more individual perspectives on Haring’s personal, political, and artistic legacies. An inspired, and inspiring, continuation of Haring’s intention." —Kirkus

Matthew Burgess is a full-time professor at Brooklyn College and a part-time teaching artist in New York City public schools. He was fascinated by the lives of saints as a child, and now he loves sharing the stories of his artistic heroes with young readers. Matthew is the author of Enormous Smallness: A Story of E. E. Cummings, Drawing on Walls: A Story of Keith Haring, and Make Meatballs Sing: The Life & Art of Corita Kent. He lives with his husband in Brooklyn and Berlin.Josh Cochran grew up in Taiwan and California. Based in Brooklyn, NY, he works as an artist and illustrator, often painting murals. In 2013, his work on Ben Kweller’s Go Fly A Kite received a Grammy nomination for Best Limited Edition Packaging. He has a number of side projects, and sometimes exhibits his work in galleries. This marks his picture book debut.