Just Jerry: How Drawing Shaped My Life by Jerry Pinkney

Abstract

Reviewed by: Just Jerry: How Drawing Shaped My Life by Jerry Pinkney Kate Quealy-Gainer, Editor Pinkney, Jerry Just Jerry: How Drawing Shaped My Life; written and illus. by Jerry Pinkney. Little, 2023 [160p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780316383851 $17.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 5-8 Pinkney’s lovingly crafted memoir opens with a poignant editor’s note, detailing the ultimate vision of the book that remains unfulfilled due to Pinkney’s death in 2021. Nonetheless, readers are treated to Pinkney’s jubilant, thankful reflection on his childhood in Philadelphia, where he grew from a kid palling around his close-knit neighborhood and struggling with his dyslexia to a teenager coming into his own as an artist, selling his sketches along with newspapers. Divided into three parts, the book cleverly parallels a physical space with Pinkney’s developmental arc: in “Inside My Front Door,” we get an intimate look at his relationships with his siblings and parents along with his initial love of drawing and the solace it brings him; “Outside My Front Door” brings us to school, where a patient, kind teacher encourages his art when his dyslexia makes standard classwork challenging; “Out in the World” details his time as a newspaper boy and his fateful meeting with John Liney, author of the comic strip Henry, who took Pinkney under his wing, sharing his work and studio with the young teen. The episodic narrative calls up specific moments with an engaging clarity, but there are distinct throughlines, including his search for his father’s approval and his belief in art as a transcendent form of communication. The incomplete sketches have Pinkney’s signature style and movement, and they’re a bittersweet reminder of the talent the world has lost. Readers who were engrossed by Pinkney’s works as children will similarly revel in and be grateful for this accessible invitation into his art and life. Copyright © 2022 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois