A follow-up to award-winning illustrator Frank Viva’s Young Frank, Architect , the picture book Young Charlotte, Filmmaker is an inspiring tale perfect for film lovers, aspiring directors, and artists of all stripes, Young Charlotte is a filmmaker who loves everything that’s black and white, including spiders, penguins, and the old movies that she sees with her dad at the Golden Theatre (where the floors are sticky). With her camera at the ready wherever she goes, she finds inspiration for movies everywhere she looks. But when her colorful parents and colorful classmates just don’t “get” her, she’s ready to give up—until a lucky encounter with a film curator at The Museum of Modern Art in New York changes her perspective. Inspired by the films she sees at MoMA and stories of other pioneering directors, Charlotte gets to work. And it’s hard work! But when her movie finally premieres at the museum, Charlotte is thrilled to be doing exactly what she loves best. “A playful tribute to the joys and struggles of creating art.” — Publishers Weekly “[A]n encouragement to budding artists to think outside the box and pursue their dreams.” — Kirkus Reviews Gr 1–3—This follow-up to Viva's Young Frank, Architect (MoMA, 2013) enters the funky world of a young filmmaker named Charlotte, who loves black-and-white movies and filming her cat. When she meets Scarlet, the film curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, she learns that the woman loves black-and-white films, too, because "it clears away the clutter." Scarlet loves Charlotte's film so much that she screens it at MoMA, where there are "hordes of colorful people" who at first seem to disapprove of her work, but Charlotte's film wins them over. Charlotte wonders if she should be more colorful, but then everyone encourages her to stay black and white. The tale has a clear lesson—stick to your artistic guns!—and Viva doesn't shy away from honoring creativity and unique perspectives. New York's signage creates engaging backgrounds, as do the speech bubbles with Viva's trademark typography. The collage-style images go beyond just black and white with the addition of taupe, as well as mustard, coral, olive green, and French blue; they call to mind Maira Kalman's work in the odd details and the surprising shapes of the characters, whose hands and hair mirror Matisse cut-outs (a recent exhibit at MoMA). This is a beautiful picture book for a museum gift shop, and one that young artists (or artistic-minded parents) will appreciate. VERDICT A quirky choice, especially for those looking for books about creativity and artistic choice.—Lisa Nowlain, Darien Library, CT "Like its predecessor, it’s a playful tribute to the joys and struggles of creating art."― Publishers Weekly "[A]n encouragement to budding artists to think outside the box and pursue their dreams."― Kirkus Reviews In addition to illustrating ten The New Yorker covers in the past two years, illustrator and designer Frank Viva has published award-winning and bestselling children’s books. His book Along a Long Road was named one of the New York Times’ 10 Best Illustrated Books of 2011. Viva is also founder of the branding and design agency Viva & Co. and cofounder of Whigby, a stationery company. He lives in Toronto.