Georgia in Hawaii: When Georgia O’Keeffe Painted What She Pleased

Georgia O'Keeffe's Hawaiian tour celebrates natural beauty and powerful artistic convictions.

Georgia O'Keeffe was famous for painting exactly what she wanted, whether flowers or skulls. Who would ever dare to tell her what to paint? The Hawaiian Pineapple Company tried. Luckily for them, Georgia fell in love with Hawaii. There she painted the beloved green islands, vibrant flowers, feathered fishhooks, and the blue, blue sea. But did she paint what the pineapple company wanted most of all? Amy Novesky's lyrical telling of this little-known story and Yuyi Morales's gorgeous paintings perfectly capture Georgia's strong artistic spirit. The book includes an author's note, illustrator's note, bibliography, map of the islands, and endpapers that identify Georgia's favorite Hawaiian flowers.

Amy Novesky is the author of Elephant Prince: The Story of Ganesh, illustrated by Belgin K. Wedman; and Me, Frida, illustrated by David Diaz. HMH will publish her picture book about Billie Holiday in fall 2012. Before she began writing for children, she worked as a children’s book editor for Chronicle Books. She lives in Northern California with her family.

Yuyi Morales is an award-winning picture book illustrator. Her recent books include My Abuelita by Tony Johnston and the upcoming Ladder to the Moon by Maya Seotoro-Ng (Obama’s half-sister). She’s won the Pura Belpre medal for illustration three times, as well as two honors for illustration and one honor for narrative.