Category: (Book)
43 new, starting at $5.93
36 used, starting at $3.65
Ten-year-old prodigy Akiane Kramarik shares her artwork,
poetry, and the fascinating story surrounding her
talent.
Growing up in a home with an atheistic mother and a
non-participating Catholic father did not stop four-year-old
Akiane Kramarik from finding God. This girl's dreams began a
conversation in the home that has eventually brought them all to
Christianity and the world's attention. Akiane: Her Life, Her
Art, Her Poetry is a collection of the best of Akiane's
full-color paintings and poetry created from ages 4 to 10, along
with details of her family and the amazing stories that surround
each unique artwork. Already a media professional, Akiane has
been interviewed on programs such as Oprah, World
News Tonight, Lou Dobbs Tonight on CNN, and
Schuller's Hour of Power. Akiane will be one of twenty
visual artists participating in the October "Listen" event
raising money for the world's needy children. Today Akiane's art
is available online at www.artakiane.com.
The art section is good, at least.Reviewed by Robert P. Beveridge, 2010-03-16
Akiane and Foreli Kramarik, Akiane: Her Life, Her Art, Her Poetry
(Thomas Nelson, 2006)
In the first section of the book, Foreli Kramarik claims that
Akiane "is regarded as the youngest binary prodigy in both
realistic art and poetry in recorded history." While you're mulling
on that, let me tell you about a convenience store near me. It
changed management and name a couple of years ago, and right
afterwards they rented a billboard about half a mile away and
claimed on it that they are "rated the #1 store." Now, I'm not sure
if anyone else sees something like that and does this, but when I
first saw it, I said, "by who? and where?" That billboard is still
there, and I still don't have the answers. Similarly, I want to
know who's calling Akiane Kramarik a "prodigy" in poetry so I can
laugh at him/her/them.
The piece they chose to use on the flap is representative, at
least:
"I can not stop holding my brush
On the blank canvas I sign
With blindfolded balance I paint my own eyes
Blue is the color of the mind
Do God's footprints follow his footsteps
Nobody hears what I see
We cannot trespass our creator
My sight can not wait for me"
("My Sight Cannot Wait for Me")
I ended up going back and taking out the [sic]s because I'd dropped
so many of them in there. I mean, come on, even Helen Steiner Rice
would have burned that, and she was the worst poet in history. (And
what's up with "cannot" being correct in the title and wrong twice
in the piece itself? Very confusing.) I'd planned on adding a
sample from another poem, but there's just too much here, and all
of it is this awful. Akiane is not a worse poet than Mattie
Stepanek, but she's right in that area.
Having blasted the first and last sections of the book, I figure I
should address the middle. There's no denying that Kramarik is a
talented visual artist, one whose technique is far, far beyond her
years. The paintings themselves are impressive (and the single star
in the rating is attributed solely to them). But, no, I couldn't
get through a section of this book without something bugging me,
and that's the interpretations under the majority of the paintings.
I may be assuming here, and if so I apologize, but in reading those
interpretations I get the feeling that Kramarik is one of those
artists whose vision leaves no room for the validity of any
interpretation of a piece that would conflict with hers. That's one
of my pet peeves with artists working in any medium. It annoys me
even with artists of whose work I am perhaps overly fond (there's
one novelist I love in particular who spouts off on this topic on a
regular basis. It drives me up the wall). She's very specific about
what everything in a particular painting means, and it makes me
wonder what would happen if someone were to mount a different (but
still valid) interpretation of one of her paintings.
The middle third of the book: interesting, if you ignore the text.
The rest of it: awful. *
Akiane: Her Life, Her Art, Her PoetryReviewed by C. Knioum, 2010-03-15
This is a beautiful book! This child's paintings are inspiring and uplifting. The story of her life up until now absolutely amazes you. I hope another book like this is in the works.
WowReviewed by Lori Tan, 2010-02-26
This is an amazing journey into the life of a girl who is a brilliant painter and poet. She has an amazing relationship with God. It was very inspiring to see the beauty that came out of her into her artwork and to read about her entire story. The text and pictures are great. Must read!
AkianeReviewed by Carol A. Ercole, 2010-01-31
I am extremely pleased with the quality of the book, service, and
efficiency in which I received the package.
I look forward to giving it to my grand-daughter for her birthday
this year. She is extremely creative and I believe she will enjoy
the book tremendously.
Incredible!Reviewed by Joey Schott, 2009-11-28
"Akiane" is an inspiring, colorful book that shares with the reader how God still works miracles. No gift such as this, could ever be given to anyone without it being from the hand of God. This chosen child never doubted who was whispering to her and because of that reason, these paintings were beautifully achieved. If you want to be moved just by this child's paintings, get the book. If you want to be moved, inspired, and have ever questioned "is there really a God," like her atheist parents did, this book has more than one example of what miracles God can do through a child.
