Annotated Bibliography
Works Cited
Krull, Kathleen. Lives of the Artists: Masterpieces, Messes (and What the Neighbors Thought). San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1995.
This is a great collection of sixteen biographies of famous artists. Each biography is approximately four pages and includes illustrations. It provides accurate and brief information about the artist as well as an unusual fact about them. This book is mainly used for the biographies of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo for the purposes of this unit. 96 pages.
Rivera, Diego. My Art, My Life: An Autobiography. 1960. New York: Dover Publications, 1991.
An autobiography of Diego Rivera calculating his life and many accomplishments as well as defeats. This is said to be full of embellishments to his actual life. This particular version has been typographically reset and adjusted but is true to the original which was published in 1960 by Citadel Press. 197 pages.
Winter, Jonah. Frida. New York: Scholastic Press, 2002.
This picture book tells the story of Kahlo mostly from her young life. It includes the events of her accident and emphasizes her love for painting. It is wonderfully illustrated and emphasizes Kahlo as a strong female and an art lover. 28 pages.
Supplemental Sources
Student Sources
Bankston, John. Latinos in American History: Diego Rivera. Hockessin: Mitchell Lane, 2004.
An informative biography that includes well written, easy to understand information about Rivera. It includes some photos and reproductions of Rivera's work. It is lengthy on the narrative but easy to follow. Great source for kids. A chronology of Rivera's life and a timeline of relevant world events are included. 48 pages.
Biography on A&E. http://www.biography.com
An expansive list of 25,000 short biographies of various people.
Cruz, Bárbara C. Frida Kahlo: Portrait of a Mexican Painter. Berkeley Heights: Enslow Publishers, 1996.
There are no color images in this book but several black and white ones. A very detailed timeline is included in the back.112 pages.
Garza, Hedda. Hispanics of Achievement: Frida Kahlo. New York: Chelsea House, 1994.
A richly detailed account of Kahlo's life. There are nine color plates and the rest of the images are black and white. Overall the book is a great personal account of who Kahlo was. A nice timeline is included. 119 pages.
Hargrove, Jim. Diego Rivera: Mexican Muralist. Chicago: Childrens Press, 1990.
This is an informative book on Rivera's life. The one element lacking is the photos. They are all black and white and there are very few of them. Having said this, it is nicely packed with narrative and full of information. It will take some time for a student to read through all of it. A dense and detailed timeline of Rivera's life is included. 127 pages.
Kent, Deborah. Diego Rivera: Painting Mexico. Chanhassen: The Child's World, 2005.
A short, easy to read biography with many color reproductions. A brief timeline is included. This book also includes a nice glossary of newly introduced words. 40 pages.
—. Frida Kahlo: An Artist Celebrates Life. Chanhassen: The Child's World, 2004.
40 pages.
An in-depth, informative book about Kahlo's life. Beginning with her childhood and continuing through her death, Deborah Kent chronicled the joys and sorrows of Kahlo's interesting life. It is easy to read for young adults. Included in the back is a timeline of major events as well as a glossary of newly introduced words.
Morrison, John. The Great Hispanic Heritage: Frida Kahlo. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2003.
A good read of Kahlo's life full of color reproductions. Each reproduction is explained in detail in the caption. 110 pages.
Venezia, Mike. Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists: Diego Rivera. Chicago: Childrens Press, 1994.
This full color biography provides great information about the life of Diego Rivera. It includes information about his influences and his role in the Mexican Revolution. Original artwork by Rivera is included as well as artwork from other famous Mexican artists. 32 pages.
—. Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists: Frida Kahlo. New York: Grolier Publishing, 1999.
This full color biography provides great information about the life of Frida Kahlo. It includes information about the Mexican Revolution and about Diego Rivera. Original artwork by Kahlo is included as well as artwork from other famous Mexican artists. 32 pages.
Winter, Jonah. Diego. New York: Dragonfly Books, 1991.
A very simple book about the childhood of Diego Rivera. The unique aspect of this book is that the text is both English and Spanish. 32 pages.
Teacher Sources
Fuentes, Carlos. Introduction. The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait. By Frida Kahlo. New York: Abradale Press,1995.
An informative teacher read for background information. Kahlo's entries are in Spanish but there are also many of her sketchings included. It is full color. Included is the English translation of Kahlo's words. 296 pages.
Herrera, Hayden. Frida Kahlo: The Paintings. New York: Harper Collins, 1991.
Many say that this is the book that brought Kahlo to the world in the early nineties and really gave her recognition among many who hadn't heard of or weren't familiar with her. 255 pages.
Kahlo, Frida. Letters of Frida Kahlo. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1995.
These are wonderful and intimate letters by Kahlo to various people. The same way that Kahlo expressed herself through her art, she also expressed herself through her letters to others. The book only includes the English translation. 159 pages.
Lozano, Luis-Martin. Frida Kahlo. Boston: Bulfinch Press, 2000.
This very large book, approximately 13'' by 12'', is full of color reproductions of Kahlo's work. Most of the images are displayed on several pages that include close-up details of the paintings. There is quite a bit of narrative that accompanies the images. Kahlo's life is well documented. Some of the images would be great to show to students because the book is so large. A word of caution, many of the images are not appropriate for school aged children so the book should not be given for browsing. This is just the nature of Kahlo's work. 245 pages.
Marnham, Patrick. Dreaming With His Eyes Open: A Life of Diego Rivera. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1998.
A richly detailed biography of Rivera. Good for background information for teachers. 350 pages.
Rochfort, Desmond. Mexican Muralists: Orozco, Rivera, Siqueiros. San Francisco: Chronicle Books: 1993.
A look into the very famous three Mexican muralists. This is included just to expand the research beyond Rivera. 239 pages.
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