The story follows Calder’s joyous creative process from child- hood to adulthood; the illustrations of his whimsical wire circus figures, gigantic colorful sculptures, and metal mobiles capture his unique use of materials and design. Author’s Note. Bibliography.

Sandy was a little boy who had been making objects since he was a little boy. Even though Sandy loved making things, he still went to college and studied to be an engineer. He also went to art school. Eventually a newspaper hired Sandy to draw the Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey circus, he worked on this for two weeks. Sandy decided to go to Paris because of the art and eventually started building objects, starting with a lion. This lead into Sandy making the whole entire circus from his wiring, he began to do shows with his objects of the circus. He created the very first mobile. I really loved how cool this book was an how he used his imagination to make something come to life. Even the strangest of things can make the coolest things. I love that he traveled all over and shared his amazing objects with so many people. ( )

I had NO idea who Alexander Calder was or what he did but after reading this colorful, quirky book I realized that he was a very talented and creative kinesthetic artist. This would be a good read for students if they are having an art or history week. ( )

This brief history of Alexander Calder provided me with a lot of information I did not know, including that he went by Sandy and his first piece of art was a small wire circus. I really enjoyed the story- quick and easy to understand- and an interesting us of white paper and paints for the images. ( )

Summary:
Alexander Calder, better known in the story as Sandy was an artist filled with creativity and imagination. As a kid he built toys for his friends out of wire and other materials. When he grew up he went to engineering school but soon he realized that he wanted to become an artist. He went to art school and began his life as an artist. He traveled from New York to Paris and from Paris to New York several times. He began to create a circus out of wire. First he filled two suitcases from this circus until he filled up five suitcases. He exposed his circus to the public. His imagination didn't have a limit.

Comments:
I like how this picture book is based on a real story but does not lose it's spontaneity as a children's book. The illustrations depict the imagination behind this artist. I think this book will teach young readers that using their creativity and imagination is absolutely acceptable. Also it gives the reader an understanding that you must work hard for what you want. ( )