A Line Can Go Anywhere: The Brilliant, Resilient Life of Artist Ruth Asawa, written by Caroline McAlister, illustrated by Jamie Green and published by Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan.

A Line Can Go Anywhere: The Brilliant, Resilient Life of Artist Ruth Asawa invites dialogue and reflection on how creative non-violent responses to prejudice and hatred can push back at oppression. Through this biography, young readers can connect with Asawa’s humble message “art belongs to everyone,” witness her resilience in the face of xenophobia, sexism, and elitism, and appreciate the human capacity to find beauty and dignity in bleak circumstances – a timely message indeed. Jamie Green’s illustrations of charcoal and watercolor continue the visual motif of the line as both decorative and symbolic. Curls, grids, twists, and loops foreshadow the shapes of Asawa’s wire sculptures, while bold straight lines across double page spreads represent the connection and movement across time and space: sometimes whole and sometimes broken. A Line Can Go Anywhere elevates Ruth Asawa, an Asian American woman, artist, activist, family and community member, who used her talents to uplift others and will inspire young readers to do the same.