Colors of the Wind: The Story of Blind Artist and Champion Runner George Mendoza

This was such a captivating story. I love how simply it was told, yet the overarching message still came across. My young children all love this book. They like the story, and love looking at the pictures. It's nice for them to think about what it would be like to be George and put themselves in someone else's shoes.I love Mr. Mendoza's artwork, and how it was incorporated into the other illustrations. We had checked it out from the library, but I knew I needed to buy it for our home. I also gave it to my mother for her birthday, and she loves it as well. Highly recommend!

Love this book - love the story and pics (want more pics!) - very inspirational. And especially love his fabrics!

Great Purchase

COLORS OF THE WINDCOLORS OF THE WIND is a picture-book biography that tells the true story about George Mendoza, an Olympic champion runner and award-winning artist who is blind. The startling illustrations are paintings created by this blind artist, George Mendoza. J.L. Powers, the author of this book, tells us:"To me, it's an amazing story of someone who has persisted and found such an incredible gift in his weakness. He broke a world record as a blind runner and went to the Olympics twice, and later started painting these bold paintings that he cannot see…."COLORS OF THE WIND is illustrated with Mendoza's paintings as well as simple line drawings by Hayley Morgan-Saunders. Besides being a champion athlete and artist, Mendoza is also the founder of Wise Tree Foundation, a nonprofit corporation that promotes the arts. A collection of Mendoza’s colorful and unusual paintings is a National Smithsonian Affiliates traveling exhibition.Mendoza, a Las Cruces native, started going blind at age 15 from a degenerative eye disease. He often describes his condition as "kaleidoscope eyes," losing his central vision but seeing things that were not there, extraordinary colors or objects multiplied and reflected back. But as a child, George did not want to be an artist or runner; he wanted to be a basketball player. He was good, until as a teen-ager, he “tried shooting baskets, but he kept missing. Instead of a basket, he saw an enormous eye floating in the air.”As George lost more of his sight, he became discouraged. “Whenever he tripped over something that everybody else could see, he yelled at himself. When a priest suggested, “Nobody else sees the way you do…You should paint what you see.” But George did not want to paint. He wanted to be a basketball star. He thought, “I’ll never be able to do what everybody else can do.”That’s when George started to run. Even blind, he could run faster than almost everyone. George discovered that “everybody was good at something.”George faced his blindness and discovered amazing gifts; one was a unique and different imagination – a different way of seeing the world. He thought about the little girl, blind from birth, who asked, “What color is the wind?” and the blind singer who described his backyard tree as reaching up into the sky more than 35 miles. A tree more than 35 miles tall? Who would imagine such a thing!Kathi Appelt, author of "The True Blue Scouts," "Sugar Man" and "The Underneath," describes the book as "an illumination of the persistent power of art." The book "reminds us all that our biggest burdens are often our greatest gifts."COLORS OF THE WIND is a gift to give yourself and to share with readers of all ages. And imagine … what colors would you paint the wind?Published 2014 by Purple House PressNancy Bo Flood, author of several award-winning books, most recently, COWBOY UP! RIDE THE NAVAJO RODEO.

Colors of the Wind is one of those inspiring books that will take your breath away. Written for young readers and excellent for read-alouds in the classroom and the home, Colors of the Wind tells the story of George Mendoza, Olympic runner and painter.As a child, George was always in motion. He was that kid that never stayed still; he wanted to be a basketball player when he got older. But his vision began to deteriorate, and he saw bursts of color. Suffering from a rare form of blindness called fundus flavimaculatus, his central vision has been destroyed, but he retains peripheral vision, which he refers to as “kaleidoscope eyes” because of the way objects reflect and are multiplied in his vision.To take his mind off his blindness, George started running and ended up competing in two Olympics. He later began painting, remembering a priest who told him to paint what he saw. He uses fingerpaints, brushes – anything that will communicate to others the unique and beautiful way George sees the world.This book is gorgeous. Illustrated with Mr. Mendoza’s paintings, this is a truly inspiring story of a man who literally changed his point of view. The text is enhanced with drawings by Hayley Morgan-Sanders. JL Powers presents Mr. Mendoza’s story with short sentences that are perfect for allowing young listeners to grasp the concepts presented and allows for deeper discussion on overcoming challenges and celebrating what gifts we have to work with.The book includes a short biography on George Mendoza, and a list of paintings featured in the book.

“J.L. Powers! I love that guy!” Kiddo shouts when she hears me telling my husband that we got a new picture book to review in the mail today. Never mind that J.L. Powers is a woman and that we’ve never read her work before. Kiddo just loves getting new books in the mail, love discovering new authors as much as I do.Colors of the Wind is the story of George Mendoza, two time blind Olympian runner who sees the world like a kaleidoscope and has become a painter. The picture book is visually stimulating and intentionally motivational to do your best and pursue your dreams, no matter what trials you may face.“That book is beautiful, like Grandmother’s Cabin,” she says when we’re done. Artistically speaking, Grandmother’s Cabin is the picture book by which all others are now measured in my three year old’s eyes. Colors of the Wind gets her art stamp of approval and she was particularly intrigued by the tribute to other paintings at the back that were not included in the story. She’s officially asking when we can meet George and we can’t wait to share this story with the cousins, our friends, and the homeschooling groups we are a part of.“An illumination of the persistent power of art. Colors of the Wind reminds us all that our biggest burdens are often our greatest gifts,” Kathi Appelt is quoted on the marketing packet. I couldn’t say it better. http://anakalianwhims.wordpress.com/2014/08/28/colors-of-the-wind/