A Line Can Go Anywhere: The Brilliant, Resilient Life of Artist Ruth Asawa

A sweeping picture book biography about influential Japanese-American sculptor Aiko Ruth Asawa and her childhood spent in an incarceration camp, by award-winning author Caroline McAlister and rising star artist Jamie Green.

Growing up on a dusty farm in Southern California, Ruth Aiko Asawa lived between two worlds. She was Aiko to some and Ruth to others, an invisible line she balanced on every day.

But when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, suddenly she was only Aiko, no matter how much her family tried to cut the lines that connected them to Japan. Like many other Japanese Americans, Ruth and her family were sent to incarceration camps.

At the Santa Anita racetrack, Ruth ran her fingers over the lines of horsehair in the stable stalls the family had moved into. At the Rohwer Relocation Center in Arkansas, she drew what she saw--bayous, guard towers, and the barbed wire that separated her from her old life.

That same barbed wire would inspire Ruth's art for decades, as she grew into one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. Throughout her career, she created enchanting twisting sculptures and curving shapes that connected, divided, and intersected.

This gorgeous biography delves into the magnificent life of Ruth Asawa and her timeless contributions to the art world.

Author: Caroline McAlister
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Published: 02/25/2025
Pages: 40
Weight: 1.03lbs
Size: 11.14h x 9.41w x 0.44d
ISBN: 9781250310378


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 11/25/2024
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 01/01/2025
Kirkus Reviews 01/15/2025
Booklist 02/01/2025 pg. 70
School Library Journal 03/28/2025 pg. 1
Horn Book Magazine 05/01/2025 pg. 113
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2025 - Outstanding, Noteworthy In Style

About the Author

Caroline McAlister teaches English at Guilford College and is the author of Finding Narnia and John Ronald's Dragons. She lives in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Jamie Green is a book illustrator based in Chicago. They graduated from Ringling College of Art + Design with a BFA in Illustration. Their work explores an intersection between illustration and design, identified by its vibrancy, curiosity and playful nature.