Where Are You, Agnes? by Tessa McWatt

Where Are You, Agnes? by Tessa McWatt
Publisher: Groundwood Books
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Non-Fiction, Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Agnes Martin was born on the Canadian prairies in the early twentieth century. In this imagining of her childhood from acclaimed author Tessa McWatt, Agnes spends her days surrounded by wheat fields, where her grandfather encourages her to draw what she sees and feels around her: the straight horizon, the feeling of the sun, the movement of birds’ wings and the shapes she sees in the wheat.

One day, Agnes’s family moves to a house in a big city. The straight horizon and wheat fields are gone, but Agnes continues to draw what she sees and feels around her. No one except her grandfather understands what she is trying to capture ― not her mother, who asks, “Where are you, Agnes?” when she sees her daughter engrossed in her drawing; nor her siblings, who think her art is ugly. Still, Agnes keeps trying to capture what she sees inside her mind.

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Where do artists find inspiration for their work? Sometimes it begins in childhood.

It’s rare to find a picture book that works just as well for older kids as it does for the little ones! The multiple layers of the plot were what made it possible for it to be understood one way by a preschooler and an entirely different way for a preteen. I was impressed with how the author pulled this off. It certainly wasn’t an easy task to accomplish.

This tale skipped over several of the most important details of Agnes Martin’s life. I ended up needing to google her in order to jog my memory and put all of the pieces together. It wasn’t clear to me if the author assumed everyone already knew those facts or if she didn’t think they were important to include for the age groups she was writing for. Either way, it was confusing at times even though I’m already familiar with the twentieth century Canadian art scene and was very interested in the subject matter in general. This was something that would work best for readers who are already fans of this painter’s work or who are willing to do a little homework ahead of time.

With that being said, I did appreciate the subplot involving grief. It was sensitively written and had some thought-provoking things to say about what happens to the emotion of love after someone dies and why it’s so important to seek out the beauty in life wherever you may find it. Those scenes could be the starting point of so many conversations about death, grief, and how to move on afterwards.

I’d recommend Where Are You, Agnes? to art lovers of all ages.