Unbound The Life + Art of Judith Scott

By Joyce Scott with Brie Spangler and Melissa Sweet

Informational Resources:

Author Information: 

About Joyce Scott: 

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2164903/joyce-scott/

About Brie Spangler:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/77908/brie-spangler/

Illustrator Information:

Melissa Sweet’s Website:

https://www.melissasweet.net/

Q&A with Unbound Creators: https://www.rhteacherslibrarians.com/latest-buzz/qa-with-unbound-creators/

Activities & Resources:

Activities:

Unbound Discussion Guide (Teaching Books):

https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=76739

Art

Take a virtual field trip to see Judith Scott’s work (4:39):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y-Xym_GygQ

To learn more about Judith’s art and see examples:

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/judith_scott/

To learn more about Judith’s art and see more examples:

https://creativegrowth.org/judith-scott

American Sign Language

American Sign Language is the language of the profoundly deaf. Learn to sign spell your name in ASL:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J39O_ArZ4ktli7Slw61XlDxw36FRmgqy/view?usp=sharing

Basic Sign Language for Children (6:27): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mnz3aYFgpk

Creative Growth Art Center

Learn about Creative Growth Art Center in Oakland, California. https://creativegrowth.org/about

Down Syndrome

What is Down Syndrome? (5:22):          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCCUIsct8Bw

MakerSpace Activities

Create a Recycled Art Project using everyday objects:

https://tinkerlab.com/recycled-art-sculpture-mystery-box-challenge/

Upcycled Bookmarks

https://craftingagreenworld.com/articles/bookmarks-recycled-natural-materials/

Yarn Art (Fiber Art)

https://www.instructables.com/DIY-Yarn-Art-Easy-Tactile-Canvas-Paintings/

Wrap and weave string around twigs, sticks or other found objects, just like Judith!

https://homemadecity.com/2022/02/24/read-make-unbound-the-life-art-of-judith-scott/

Discussion Questions:

Judy and Joyce are what kind of sisters?

How do the two girls sleep?

What do the sisters share?

How does their mother describe them?

Where do the girls play on warm nights?

Why does Joyce go to kindergarten without Judy?

What do the doctors say about Judy?

How does Joyce say Judy sees the world?

Why is Judy gone one day? How does Judy feel when she is away from her sister?  How does Joyce feel?

What is Joyce’s world replaced with?

How does Joyce describe the place that Judy lives?

Who does Joyce take to meet Judy throughout the years? 

What does Joyce learn about Judy on a phone call?

What do Judy’s records say about her?

What job does Joyce have?

What does Joyce worry about?

How long was Judy confined to an institution? Was her time in the institution worthwhile?  What were the positives of her being there?  What were the negative aspects of her being in the institution? 

What is the Creative Growth Art Center the first to do?

What is Down Syndrome? Do you know anyone with Down Syndrome?

What is different about those living with Down Syndrome now rather than when Judy was born?

Book Talk Teasers:

Read the reader’s theater for Unbound

Watch the book trailer on the Texas Bluebonnet Award YouTube channel for Unbound.

Watch the co-author's interview on the Texas Bluebonnet Award YouTube channel.

Watch the illustrator's interview on the Texas Bluebonnet Award YouTube channel.

Read Alikes: 

Siblings: 

Greenberg, Jan. Two brothers, four hands. Profiles the iconic twentieth-century artist and his daredevil brother, celebrating their dedication to their respective vocations and each other. (NoveList Plus)

Artists: 

Novesky, Amy. Cloth lullaby. Vivid, multi-layered illustrations illuminate these engaging biographies of uniquely talented female fiber artists both known for their intricate sculptures. (NoveList Plus)

Steptoe, Javaka. Radiant child. Presents the life of the artist, who was inspired as a child by a book of anatomy given to him by his mother after being injured in a car crash and who went on to become a celebrity in the art world before his early death at twenty-eight. (NoveList Plus)

Say, Allen. Silent days, silent dreams. A fictional biography of James Castle, a deaf, autistic artist whose drawings hang in major museums throughout the world. (NoveList Plus)

Reviews:

Scott, Joyce & Brie Spangler. Unbound : The Life + Art of Judith Scott. Penguin Random House/Alfred A. Knopf  Books for Young Readers, 2021

Booklist

Unbound : The Life + Art of Judith Scott.

By Meghan P. Brown and Brie Spangler (author) Melissa Sweet (illustrator)

June 2021. 48p. Alfred A. Knopf  Books for Young Readers, $18.99 (9780525648116) Grades 1-3. 

REVIEW: First Published June 1,  2021 (Vol. 117, No. 19) (Booklist)

Sweet brings her signature style of intricate collage compositions to this picture-book biography of Judith Scott, a fiber artist with Down syndrome. With assistance from Spengler, author Joyce Scott (Judith’s twin sister) poetically describes her happy childhood with her sister, which turns to grief and dismay when, in 1950, their parents send Judith to an institution, where she ends up staying for decades. As adults, Joyce and Judith are finally reunited, and Judith finds a creative outlet at an organization giving people with disabilities a place to make art. Judith’s sculptures, colorful bundles of found materials, eventually brought her world renown, though primarily after her death, a note the book somewhat abruptly ends on. Joyce emphasizes the importance of creative freedom, though there’s a sadness here that children might have questions about. Sweet effectively uses color to evoke mood and incorporates homages to Judith’s art in her eclectic, eye-catching compositions. Backmatter elaborates on Judith’s life and art and includes a photo of one of her striking sculptures. An artful, deeply felt glimpse into the life of a lesser-known artist. —Sarah Hunter 

Used with the permission of Booklist  https://www.booklistonline.com/

School Library Journal starred (July 1, 2021) 

Gr 2-4-This is the true story of twin sisters Joyce and Judy, who are inseparable, until Joyce goes to school and Judy can't because she has Down syndrome. Even after Judy is institutionalized, Joyce continues to be involved as much as she can with her. As an adult, Joyce becomes Judy's legal guardian and brings her home to live with her and her family. Joyce enrolls Judy in an art program that is designed to help her express herself. After some time in this school, an artist is born; after Judy dies of heart failure, her art and story continue to inspire people. This book is an amazing tribute to the determination and unshakeable bond of these siblings, who are white. The illustrations use lots of fiber art and other mixed media art in a way Judy would appreciate. Pictures with Judy and her sister are bright and colorful, while those of Judy's elementary school and other moments in time, not as happy, are darker. VERDICT For the art shelves or biography, this is a tale that teaches empathy; the coauthors and illustrator have recreated a loving world with harsh realities dancing around the melancholy edges.-Dorinda Brown, High Plains Community Schs., Polk, NE © Copyright 2021. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Reprinted with permission from School Library Journal ©2020

Additional Reviews Available

• Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 06/01/21

• Horn Book Magazine, 09/01/21

• Kirkus Reviews, 05/15/21

• Publishers Weekly starred, 05/03/21

• School Library Journal, 07/01/21