Modern art has a language, and when it is learned it opens the door to a lifetime of enjoyment and appreciation. In Picasso: Soul on Fire, Rick Jacobson and Laura Fernandez present more than the story of the painter’s life. By exploring his influences and his creative process, they give young readers the tools with which to understand his work.

Picasso was certainly an expert draftsman – his rendering of pigeons’ feet by the time he was eleven was so detailed that his artist father recognized the boy’s genius and stopped painting. But he is remembered for taking art in directions that have made us redefine how we see the world. This beautifully illustrated homage is not only an introduction to one of the most important artists of the last century, but a splendid introduction to modern art.