Review Detail

Love Is Hard Work: The Art and Heart of Corita Kent

Kids Nonfiction 280

A life of art and activism

March 05, 2025 (Updated: July 12, 2026)

Overall rating

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

Learning Value

4.0

Frances Kent went to a Catholic school, where her sixth grade teacher reinforced her love of art by giving her lessons. When she graduated from high school in 1936, she entered the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary order, taking the name Mary Corita. She spent many years as an enthusiastic art teacher, challenging her students to see art in everyday objects and to create with spirit and inspiration while thinking outside the box. She herself used her art to make people stop and think, often using elements of popular culture, but reframing them to reinforce spiritual concepts. Her reworking of the WonderBread logo to bring attention to the communion wafer is visually and conceptually striking. She was intrigued by the cultural zeitgeist of the 1960s, and used her work to call attention to social issues dear to her heart. Sadly, the administration of the Catholic church wanted the nuns to teach only if they wore the traditional habit and adhered to strict church guidelines. In 1968, this led Sister Kent to renounce her vows and retire from teaching to create her art in peace.

Good Points

I’m not sure I have ever seen graphic art that so perfectly encapsulates the sentiments and visual elements of the 1960s as well as Kent’s work does. Her use of silk screen, her fonts, and the bold colors of the era all support the messages of peace and love that she and many others espoused. Tentler-Krylov’s illustrations work Kent’s work into the story in satisfying ways.

There is a brief author’s note at the end of the book, as well as selected sources. Unlike some biographical picture books, this does a good job of covering Kent’s life and career in the text, so a timeline or further notes aren’t really necessary.

People create art for all manner of reasons, and Kent’s story is an enthralling one, especially for readers who might have ties to the Catholic faith. Include this in a palette of art books that includes Rogers and Innerst’s Joan Mitchell Paints a Symphony, Suzuki and Weinstein’s Yayoi Kusama: From Here to Infinity!, Harvey and Wise’s Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas, and Temple and White’s Wilhelmina Barnes-Graham: An Introduction to Her Life with Activities.