Book Review: The Colors of the Wind (J. L. Powers)Reviewed by Ona GritzColors of the Wind, by J.L. Powers, is a picture book biography of George Mendoza, a painter and champion runner who has been legally blind since he was fifteen. Mendoza's first passion had been basketball but he lost the ability to play when bright colors and images filled his vision and obscured the basket and the court. Not long after, he began running. Initially, he ran merely to tire himself out enough to forget about the grief of his loss, but Mendoza soon discovered he had real skill. He set a world record for a blind runner with a four minute and thirty-two second mile, and participated in the Olympics twice. It wasn't until he was in his thirties that he found his next passion. Mendoza, who describes his vision as kaleidoscopic, credits a conversation he'd once had with a priest, along with another with a girl who had been blind since birth, for leading him to the canvas. "You should paint what you see," the priest had told him "What color is the wind?" the girl had wanted to know. The highlight of Colors of the Wind, in fact its reason for being, is Mendoza's vibrant artwork. With bright colors and bold energetic lines, Mendoza renders the world of his unique vision. Basketballs framed with Saturn's fiery rings. An eye filling the canvas like a watchful sun. Clouds dripping candle wax and rain. A multicolored undulating wind. His paintings are lush with color and the images are many layered so that the viewer never tires of looking. Mendoza paints with a child-like freedom and with a true generosity. Readers, in this case children, will come away from time spent with his art with a genuine understanding of how it is this particular blind man sees. While J.L. Powers alludes to Mendoza's struggles to adjust when his blindness was new, she doesn't linger there. Nor does she turn Mendoza into a disability hero as she informs us of his accomplishments. It is a respectfully written book. Powers' language is clear and unadorned. In their plainness, her words allow Mendoza's art to be the thing that shines. The one real weakness of Colors of the Wind is the unnecessary addition of illustrations on each page. These are not done by Mendoza and their style is reminiscent of textbook illustrations or those found in early readers used in classrooms. The one interesting component is the appearance of Mendoza's work within them. His sky is reflected in the windows of a car. His suns color tree tops. Pieces of his paintings adorn his clothes. Despite this cleverness, the illustrations are stiff, and over-literal. They function to reiterate the story as though Powers' telling and Mendoza's art, as well as a very detailed overview at the back of the book, are somehow not enough. Nevertheless, Colors of the Wind is a worthwhile portrait of a compelling man whose story and art you'll want to share with the children you know.
Title: Colors of the Wind
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