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A Line Can Go Anywhere: The Brilliant, Resilient Life of Artist Ruth Asawa
A sweeping picture book biography about influential Japanese-American sculptor Aiko Ruth Asawa and her childhood spent in an incarceration camp, by award-winning author Caroline McAlister and rising star artist Jamie Green.
Growing up on a dusty farm in Southern California, Ruth Aiko Asawa lived between two worlds. She was Aiko to some and Ruth to others, an invisible line she balanced on every day.
But when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, suddenly she was only Aiko, no matter how much her family tried to cut the lines that connected them to Japan. Like many other Japanese Americans, Ruth and her family were sent to incarceration camps.
At the Santa Anita racetrack, Ruth ran her fingers over the lines of horsehair in the stable stalls the family had moved into. At the Rohwer Relocation Center in Arkansas, she drew what she saw—bayous, guard towers, and the barbed wire that separated her from her old life.
That same barbed wire would inspire Ruth’s art for decades, as she grew into one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. Throughout her career, she created enchanting twisting sculptures and curving shapes that connected, divided, and intersected.
This gorgeous biography delves into the magnificent life of Ruth Asawa and her timeless contributions to the art world.
Growing up on a dusty farm in Southern California, Ruth Aiko Asawa lived between two worlds. She was Aiko to some and Ruth to others, an invisible line she balanced on every day.
But when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, suddenly she was only Aiko, no matter how much her family tried to cut the lines that connected them to Japan. Like many other Japanese Americans, Ruth and her family were sent to incarceration camps.
At the Santa Anita racetrack, Ruth ran her fingers over the lines of horsehair in the stable stalls the family had moved into. At the Rohwer Relocation Center in Arkansas, she drew what she saw—bayous, guard towers, and the barbed wire that separated her from her old life.
That same barbed wire would inspire Ruth’s art for decades, as she grew into one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. Throughout her career, she created enchanting twisting sculptures and curving shapes that connected, divided, and intersected.
This gorgeous biography delves into the magnificent life of Ruth Asawa and her timeless contributions to the art world.
40 pages, Hardcover
Published February 25, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 7, 2025
Ruth Asawa was raised on her family’s vegetable farm in California. She attended Japanese school on Saturdays and won an award in her regular school for a poster she made of the Statue of Liberty. Her life was divided in half, but soon that was to become even more clear. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, her father was taken away. Two months later the rest of the family entered imprisonment. Ruth started to draw her life in the camps. At age 20 after the end of the war, she started to create the wire sculptures that she would become known for. Eventually she was asked to create the memorial for those imprisoned in the Japanese internment camps.
Told in poetic language that uses the image of lines repeatedly, this nonfiction picture book pays a deep and respectful homage to this Japanese-American artist. Asawa rises again and again, despite the racism that impacted her childhood and teen years. The use of art to create conversation and connection is clear in this book. The illustrations are done in charcoal, watercolor and digital media. They capture the lines, the wire, the connectivity and the inhuman conditions of the camps.
A book that celebrates survival and the way art can carry a spirit through its darkest days. Appropriate for ages 5-9.
Told in poetic language that uses the image of lines repeatedly, this nonfiction picture book pays a deep and respectful homage to this Japanese-American artist. Asawa rises again and again, despite the racism that impacted her childhood and teen years. The use of art to create conversation and connection is clear in this book. The illustrations are done in charcoal, watercolor and digital media. They capture the lines, the wire, the connectivity and the inhuman conditions of the camps.
A book that celebrates survival and the way art can carry a spirit through its darkest days. Appropriate for ages 5-9.
July 8, 2025
This was a random selection for me as the cover art work looked interesting. What a great surprise, it was wonderful. I did not anticipate the life of Ruth Asawa would be one of a young woman growing up in a produce raising family, that she would spend time in a Japanese internment camp where she was influenced by Disney artists also in the camp, and that Ruth was very influenced by the lines that she saw in nature and the various ways those take shape and form. Also I learned from the three page author’s note that some University Presidents and Quaker organizations convinced the government to allow college age residents to leave internment camps and go to college which Ruth did.
This title concisely gives a great synopsis of the life of Ruth Asawa, through text, illustrations, and the author’s note. Well done picture book biography.
This title concisely gives a great synopsis of the life of Ruth Asawa, through text, illustrations, and the author’s note. Well done picture book biography.
August 18, 2025
What an intriguing story about Ruth Asawa! She could be an inspiration for many young artists or just plain old humans trying to fulfill their expressive dreams. Together with other stories of the Japanese Internment, my ire for its injustice grows.
Although the story was compelling and the illustrations apt for the story, I wished that there were more depictions of her work. The lone picture of her working on a piece at the end was insufficient. As student would get a very scant image of her work from the book. Also, the note at the pack seemed little more detailed that the story told in the bulk of the text. This limits the scope of the book. I'm not sure I would use it as a read aloud due to the length. And the back information just didn't elucidate enough.
Although the story was compelling and the illustrations apt for the story, I wished that there were more depictions of her work. The lone picture of her working on a piece at the end was insufficient. As student would get a very scant image of her work from the book. Also, the note at the pack seemed little more detailed that the story told in the bulk of the text. This limits the scope of the book. I'm not sure I would use it as a read aloud due to the length. And the back information just didn't elucidate enough.
June 2, 2025
This riveting biography explores the life of artist Ruth Asawa, tracing her remarkable journey through adversity—including her internment in a Japanese American prison camp during World War II. Asawa's story is a powerful testament to the strength of resilience, determination, and creativity in the face of injustice and hardship. Through her art, she found both purpose and healing, offering readers a profound example of how beauty and meaning can emerge from even the most difficult circumstances. With its rich detail and thoughtful storytelling, this book is an engaging and inspiring read for upper elementary and middle school students.
June 23, 2025
With beautiful poetic language, bursting with engaging metaphors and similes, this book begins with artist Ruth Aiko Asawa as a child drawing her first lines. Lines are a recurrent theme throughout the book, skillfully tying all the parts of the story together. The lyrical wording makes it a pleasure to read, while packed with fascinating information about the artist. The illustrations echo the line theme, weaving lines into whimsical patterns. The last spread features a magnificent array of Asawa's sculptures, with the lines this time creating varying degrees of transparency.
I highly recommend this book!
I highly recommend this book!
July 31, 2025
About Asawa from childhood through her career. It's been a while, but I think there was more focus on her family's time in internment camps than there was in A Life Made by Hand: The Story of Ruth Asawa.
Good backmatter!
Good backmatter!
January 10, 2025
4 stars
I read a digital advanced reader's copy courtesy of the publisher
This biography of a Japanese American artist who suffered the injustice of the Executive Order 9066 to create beautiful art.
I read a digital advanced reader's copy courtesy of the publisher
This biography of a Japanese American artist who suffered the injustice of the Executive Order 9066 to create beautiful art.
August 13, 2025
Comprehensive, lyrically written. I had never heard of Ruth Asawa, but now I am fascinated.
I will plan to pair the RICBA nominee from George Takei with this, and then see if I can loop in the art teacher for a related activity.
I will plan to pair the RICBA nominee from George Takei with this, and then see if I can loop in the art teacher for a related activity.
June 12, 2025
Art is for everyone
June 29, 2025
The subtitle is true. She was brilliant and resilient. I hope someday to see her art in person.
July 7, 2025
A powerful biography of a woman who survived internment and created art to make sense of her complicated world.
July 28, 2025
Extensive back matter.
August 14, 2025
A child POW in the US, Ruth Asawa persevered through a lifetime of prejudice to make meaningful art pieces.
October 8, 2025
Really great illustrations and a good introduction. Maybe a tiny bit wordy, but good.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews