My Blog's Artsy-Fartsy Table of Contents

Quilt Patterns

     10-Inch Heart Square from Pin Cut Sew

     11 Different Patterns using leftover/scrap 2 1/2 inch strips by The Quilted Forest

     16-Patch Delight by Lori Dickman

     Arkansas Crossroads

     Color Wash Scrap Quilt by Terry Rowland

     Crumb Blocks into Crumb Quilts by Merry Mabel Market

     Fold & Sew SIMPLE Square-in-a-Square

     Fresh Start Quilt by Agilejack (scrap/crumb strips - gorgeous and easy!)

     Hidden Trails Table Runner from Charm Pack by Moonkin Stitchery

     One Charm Pack Table Runner by Sew the Distance

     Paper Pieced Mini Houses

     Potato Chip Blocks (using 2 x 3 1/2 in. blocks or 2 1/2 x 4 1/2)

     Scrap Strips Diamond Trip (Donna / Jordan Fabrics)

     Spring Season Quilt Block by Beth Shibley

     Sweet & Salty by Charisma Horton

     Unallocated by Michelle McKillop

Gifts to Sew

     Tissue Holders (TOO easy) thanks Ronda Winstead

     Easy, EASY Simple Fabric Bookmarks thanks to Jona Giammulva

Yarn Projects

     2022 Homeless Blanket Project (through Charles Bruce Fdtn.)

     Kim's Magic Blanket

Yarn Patterns

     Amigurumi Octopus 

     Linen Stitch Dishcloth

     Bathroom Mat using leftover yarn tied together

Knitting Book Reviews

Picture Books About Knitting and/or Yarn

Yarn Bombing

Art Techniques to Try

     Neurographic Art

Artists

     Blair, Mary (Disney Artist)

     Gaudi, Antoni (architect)

     Haring, Keith

     Kahlo, Frida

     Kandinsky, Vasily

     Kusama, Yayoi

     Lewis, Maudie (Canada's Grandma Moses)

     Matisse, Henri

     O'Keeffe, Georgia

     Pippin, Horace

     Rousseau, Henri

     Sumner, Kae (6' 3" Disney Artist & Founder of Int'l Tall Person's Clubs)

     VanGogh, Vincent

     Warhol, Andy

Picture Book - Pencils, Pens & Brushes: A Great Girls' Guide to Disney Animation by Mindy Johnson

Illustrated by Lorelay Rove

2019 Disney Enterprises

HC $18.99

78 pgs.
J 791.4334 Johnson

Goodreads rating:  4.150 - 106 ratings

My rating:  5
Endpapers: solid pink

My comments:  I totally enjoyed reading through this book, and learned so much!  I'm not a huge Disney fan, but all the information about the women associated through the years of Disney history is just wonderful. 
     I particularly enjoyed learning about Kae Sumner, who was 6' 3" tall, and because she drew for the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, was written up in Life magazine.  She became popular, with many people of height contacting her, and she began a club for tall people called the Tip Toppers.  So cool!
     I was looking at this book because I wanted more information about Mary Blair, who I was researching.  So glad I found this book, since Bosler doesn't have it and I had to borrow it from Coy/Shippensburg.

Included:
Lillian & Edna, the two Mrs. Disneys (Walt and his brother Roy
Dorothy Ann Blank - founder of the Story Development Department, starting with Snow White
Nelbert Chouinard - Chouinard Institute teachers taught original animators at Disney
Marge Champion -

Goodreads:  Based on the critically acclaimed Disney Editions title, Ink & Paint: The Women of Walt Disney's Animation, this nonfiction picture book is a fun and inspiring look at a few of the amazing women who have worked at Disney Animation over the years—from sculptors to inkers to painters to story artists, all with unique personalities and accomplishments, such as becoming a world record-holding pilot or creating an international club for tall people!

Kae Sumner: Six Foot Three Disney Artist and Founder of International Tall Person's Clubs

  

While reading through Disney Pencils, Pens & Brushes: A Great Girl's Guide to Disney Animation by Mindy Johnson and illustrated by Lorelay Rove, I learned about Kae Sumner.  How interesting!

Born in 1916, she was always the tallest in her classes, topping out at 6' 3".  Her artwork was so good that when she took her portfolio to Disney's Hyperion Studio during the depression, she was haired to work in the Ink & Paint Department.  And it's noted that they even made a special desk that was a bit taller so that she could easily work beside the other artists.

"Kae's talents shined and when the newspapers heard about her artistry on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, she became famous as 'the giant girl who painted Walt's seven little men.' "

She didn't let her height dwarf her (that's said with tongue in cheek), she was contacted by so many other tall people that she started a club and called it the TIP TOPPERS.  The story was featured in a Life magazine article, and Kae went on to found the International Tall Person's clubs, some of which are still around today.

Born in 1916, she died in 1996.

Have you seen Tall Girl, the movie? It's on Netflix, looking forward to seeing it.

Tall Clubs International
Tall Clubs International Foundation includes a short biography on Kae Sumner Einfeldt

Learning More About Art and Artists

Blair, Mary
Disney artist

Kahlo, Frida

Sumner, Kae
Disney Artist (6' 3")

The Art of Mary Blair

Born in 1911, Mary Blair was first and foremost an artist for Walt Disney. She began working for Walt Disney Studios in 1940. Her designs and artwork for Peter Pan, Cinderella, and  Alice in Wonderland are unforgettable. She illustrated several Little Golden Books and many advertisements. She also designed the Small World exhibit in the mid-1960s!  She died in 1978.

Website:  Magic of Mary Blair

Books by and about Mary Blair, plan to find and read:

Picture Book - Two Brothers, Four Hands: The Artists Alberto and Diego Giacometti by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan

Illustrated by Hadley Hooper

2019, Neal Porter Books, Holiday House

HC $ 21.99

64 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.82 - 168 ratings

My rating:  4
Endpapers:  Deepblue

1^st line/s:  1901 - 1918  "In the Swiss village of Stampa, surrounded by mountains so high that in winter their shadows fill the valley, live two brothers."

My comments:  This is the way I like to read history and biography....in a well researched picture book!  I've seen Alberto Giacometti's sculptures before, but didn't even attribute a name to them.  So this informative, easy-to-read picture book was perfect for me.  And although I was not super thrilled with the illustrations, they did tell the story of the two brothers well.

Goodreads:   The inspiring true story of the Giacometti brothers, one an artist, the other a daredevil, both devoted to their craft . . . but even more devoted to each other.
          Everyone who knew them agreed. Alberto was the genius of the family. His younger brother Diego was his opposite--he didn't care much for books or schoolwork, and he had no idea what he would be when he grew up. But despite their differences, the two brothers shared an intense bond.
          Alberto Giacometti became one of the iconic artists of the twentieth century, whose tall, spindly sculptures grace the collections of museums around the world. Diego was always at his side, helping and encouraging, and in his spare time creating remarkable pieces of furniture, works of sculpture in their own right.
          The poignant story of brothers and sculptors Alberto and Diego Giacometti is skillfully brought to life in the hands of multiple Sibert Honor authors Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, and the spectacular artwork of Hadley Hooper.
          This lavishly illustrated 64-page book includes extensive backmatter, complete with a timeline, source notes, photographs, and an essay on how to look at a Giacometti sculpture.
A Horn Book Best Book of the Year
A Washington Post Best Children's Book of the Year

Picture Book Biography - Yayoi Kusama From Here to Infinity by Sarah Suzuki

Illustrated by Ellen Weinstein
with reproductions of works by Yayoi Kusama

2017, Museum of Modern Art, NY

HC $19.95
Not in Cumberland County Library system, Interlibrary Loan from Dauphin County

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.82 - 182 ratings

My rating:  4
Endpapers:  The title page is the opening endpaper and the copyright information and list of MOMA trustees is the ending endpaper.

1^st line/s:  "Yayoi Kusama was born in the country of Japan, on the island of Honshu, in a town called Matsumoto City."

My comments: Although the author says "She is widely considered to be the most popular artist in the world,"  I was completely unaware of Yayoi Kusama and her work!  I feel like a have a pretty decent grip on art and artists, but this has shown me that I have to check out more contemporary artists.  This is the story of her artistic life -born in 1929 in Japan, moved to NYC in the 1950's, and still going strong today, She is famous for her dots and squiggles, installations, and even fabric.  The text of the book was pretty basic, and I didn't get any sense of time, and none was mentioned.  When I read, "It was her first airplane trip.  There were only four other passengers, and the weather was stormy, with rain and lightning.  The airplane wobbled and dipped as it flew to America." I was like....what? ..... until reading the added bibliographic information at the end I realized this would have been in the 1950s.  No sense of that from the text, or even illustrations.The illustrations are pretty cool, and the reproductions of actual work are a great addition to the story.

Goodreads:  Growing up in the mountains of Japan, Yayoi Kusama (b. 1929) dreamed of becoming an artist. One day, she had a vision in which the world and everything in it—the plants, the people, the sky—were covered in polka dots. She began to cover her paintings, drawings, sculptures, and even her body with dots. As she grew up, she traveled all around the world, from Tokyo to Seattle, New York to Venice, and brought her dots with her. Different people saw these dots in different ways—some thought they were tiny, like cells, and others imagined them enormous, like planets. Every year, Kusama sees more of the world, covering it with dots and offering people a way to experience it the way she does.
           Written by Sarah Suzuki, a curator at The Museum of Modern Art, and featuring reproductions of Kusama’s instantly recognizable artworks, this colorful book tells the story of an artist whose work will not be complete until her dots cover the world, from here to infinity

85. All the Greys on Greene Street by Laura Tucker

listened to audio - borrowed from the library
read by Taylor Miskimen beautifully
Unabridged audio (8:28)
2019 Viking Books for Young Readers
320 pgs.
HF (sort of...) MidGrades
Finished 9/5/2019
Goodreads rating: 3.91 - 2646 ratings
My rating:  4.5
Setting: 1981 Soho, NYC - artist community, in an artist's loft....

First line/s:   "May Day is the first day of May.  'Mayday' is a radio signal used by ships and aircraft in distress.  This spring, May Day was the first day that my mom didn't get out of bed."

My comments:  This is a book about color and art and being part of an artist community in Soho, NYC, in 1981.  There is both innocence and maturity in Ollie that makes her a really interesting protagonist.  Character development, setting, and plot were all very strong in the wonderful book.  Exceptionally well narrated.  There's an afterward talking about depression in parents and helping to explain a bit about it to a middle grade reader, telling where they could get help for themselves and the parent who may suffer from it.

Goodreads synopsis:  SoHo, 1981. Twelve-year-old Olympia is an artist—and in her neighborhood, that's normal. Her dad and his business partner Apollo bring antique paintings back to life, while her mother makes intricate sculptures in a corner of their loft, leaving Ollie to roam the streets of New York with her best friends Richard and Alex, drawing everything that catches her eye.
          Then everything falls apart. Ollie's dad disappears in the middle of the night, leaving her only a cryptic note and instructions to destroy it. Her mom has gone to bed, and she's not getting up. Apollo is hiding something, Alex is acting strange, and Richard has questions about the mysterious stranger he saw outside. And someone keeps calling, looking for a missing piece of art. . . .
          Olympia knows her dad is the key--but first, she has to find him, and time is running out.

Picture Book Biography - Michelangelo by Diane Stanley

Illustrated by the author

Copyright, publisher

2000, Harper Collins

48 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.15 - 594 ratings

My rating:  4+

Endpapers:  Deep eggplant)

1^st line/s:  "Lodovico Buonarroti was a proud man from a respectable old family.  He owned a house in Florence and had a little farm in the country.  But for the past few generations, things had been going downhill for the Buonarroti family.  The weren't exactly poor, but they had to be very careful with their money."

My comments: Although too text-heavy for young children, this is a wonderful biography to use with 3rd-4th-5th graders, and the illustrations are simply wonderful.  Each double page spread includes a lovely colored illustrations and a full page of text. I don't appreciate adult-level biographies, but this was a perfect biography for me, so don't discount it for adults as well!  Fascinating man!

Goodreads: When he was born, Michelangelo Buonarroti was put into the care of a stonecutter's family. He often said it was from them that he got his love of sculpture. It certainly didn't come from his own father, a respectable magistrate who beat his son when he asked to become an artists apprentice.
          But Michelangelo persevered. His early sculptures caught the attention of Florence's great ruler, Lorenzo de' Medici, who invited the boy to be educated with his own sons. Soon after, Michelangelo was astonishing people with the lifelike creations he wrested from marble--from the heartbreaking Pieta he sculpted when he was only twenty-five to the majestic David that brought him acclaim as the greatest sculptor in Italy.
          Michelangelo had a turbulent, quarrelsome life. He was obsessed with perfection and felt that everyone--from family members to his demanding patrons--took advantage and let him down. His long and difficult association with Pope Julius II yielded his greatest masterpiece, the radiant paintings in the Sistine Chapel, and his most disastrous undertaking, the monumental tomb that caused the artist frustration and heartache for forty years.
           With her thoroughly researched, lively narrative and superbly detailed illustrations, Diane Stanley has captured the life of an artist who towered above the late Renaissance--and whose brilliance in architecture, painting, and sculpture amazes and moves us to this day.

Books that Talk about Artists

Haring, Keith
Keith Haring: The Boy Who Just Kept Drawing (Haring/Neubecker) 2017 (5)
     A wonderful biography for kids about Keith Haring that includes lots and lots of his original work, and is beautifully illustrated by Neubecker.  A favorite.
The Stories of the Mona Lisa (Barsony) 2012 (4)
          Barsony shows how he thinks other famous artists would have painted the Mona Lisa, including Keith Haring.

Picasso, Pablo
13 Artists Children Should Know (Wenzel) 2009 (5)
          A wonderful model for further research and writing...each of the thirteen artist pages include famous painting/s, kid-friendly information and anecdotes about the artist, tips, and further reading suggestions.  There's also a "try this' for each artist!
Emily's Blue Period (Daly/Brown) 2014 (5)
           A picture book about divorce...a young girl follows the example of Pablo Picasso and creates a collage of her "home."
Math at the Art Museum (Group Majoongmul) 2015 (4)
          Many famous artists are portrayed in this art book, which include works of art and perspective about the art and the artist. 

Picture Book: Emily's Blue Period by Cathleen Daly

Illustrated by Lisa Brown

2014.  A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press

HC $17.99

56 pgs. (5 tiny short chapters, still reads as a picture book)

Goodreads rating:  405 - 1204 ratings

My rating:  5

Endpapers:  pale slate

Illustrations:  Lots of white, very much like

1^st line/s:  "Emily wants to be an artist."

My comments: An excellent picture book for kids who live in a divorced-family situation as well as a nice introduction to the artwork of Pablo Picasso.  Written in five teeny, tiny short chapters and although there are 56 pages, it still reads as a picture book in one easy sitting. Lots of discussion and art projects (including collage-making) can be created after reading this....

Goodreads: Emily wants to be an artist. She likes painting and loves the way artists like Pablo Picasso mixed things up.Emily's life is a little mixed up right now. Her dad doesn't live at home anymore, and it feels like everything around her is changing.
          “When Picasso was sad for a while,” says Emily, “he only painted in blue. And now I am in my blue period.”
          It might last quite some time.

Picture Book - Keith Haring: The Boy Who Just Kept Drawing by Kay A. Haring

Illustrated by  Robert Neubecker

2017 Dial Books for Young Readers

HC $16.99

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.20 - 560 ratings

My rating:  5 (and NOT just because he's one of my favorite artists!)

Endpapers:  White background with Haring's people/animals, movement lines completely covering it.  There must be a name for this piece?

Illustrations:  Both Neubecker's illustrations of Keith and his life, with lots and lots of actual reproductions of Keith Haring's work.

1^st line/s:   "There was a boy named Keith.  When he was little, his father taught him how to draw dogs and fish and funny things.  His dad would draw a line.  Then Keith would draw one.  Soon the whole page would be full.  From that time on, Keith never stopped drawing."  This end-part, "Keith never stopped drawing" was repeated throughout the book.

My comments: What a wonderful book to tell the story of Keith Haring to kids!  Not only do I love the way it's written, but I'm really taken with the illustrations...they compliment the story perfectly.  Including so many of Haring's actual artwork is a wonderful plus.  I've read this book over and over since it first came out, I really enjoy it.  And there's so much to learn about the person that Keith Haring was.  At the end there are four pages of author's notes, information about Haring, and photos of Keith and his siblings, the kind of additional information that will satisfy adult readers!

Goodreads: This one-of-a-kind book explores the life and art of Keith Haring from his childhood through his meteoric rise to fame. It sheds light on this important artist's great humanity, his concern for children, and his disregard for the establishment art world. Reproductions of Keith's signature artwork appear in scenes boldly rendered by Robert Neubecker. This is a story to inspire, and a book for Keith Haring fans of all ages to treasure.

PICTURE BOOK - Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoe

Illustrated by the artist
2017 Caldecott Medal Winner

2016 Little Brown & Company

HC $17.99

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.16 - 2472 Ratings

My rating:  5 - This is a gorgeous, informative book!

Endpapers:  White grafitti on blue

Illustrations:  Done in the style of Basquiat, the information from the author/illustrator at the back of the book is extremely interesting.

1^st line/s:  "Somewhere in Brooklyn, between hearts that thump, double Dutch, and hopsxotch and salty mouths that slurp sweet ice, a little boy dreams of being a famous ARTIST."

This is an illustration from the book

My comments:  This book is a RADIANT book!  It's also extremely interesting.  I saw the movie The Upside last night, and Kevin Hart's character mention Basquiat.  Then, this morning, this book came across my desk.  I was MEANT to read it today, n'est pas?  It was wonderful, and prompts me to look further into his work, as his story and timeline seem similar to my wonderful Keith Haring.....

This is an actual piece of Basquiat's work!

Goodreads:  Winner of the Randolph Caldecott Medal and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award
          Jean-Michel Basquiat and his unique, collage-style paintings rocketed to fame in the 1980s as a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the art world had ever seen. But before that, he was a little boy who saw art everywhere: in poetry books and museums, in games and in the words that we speak, and in the pulsing energy of New York City. Now, award-winning illustrator Javaka Steptoe's vivid text and bold artwork echoing Basquiat's own introduce young readers to the powerful message that art doesn't always have to be neat or clean--and definitely not inside the lines--to be beautiful.

MOVIE - Maudie

PG-13 (1:55)

Limited release June 16, 2017

Viewed date at Carlisle Theater (downtown) onFirday, July 21, 2017
IMBd: 7.7/10

RT Critic: 90   Audience:  93
Critic's Consensus:  Maudie's talented cast -- particularly Sally Hawkins in the title role -- breathe much-needed depth into a story that only skims the surface of a fascinating life and talent.

Cag:  5.5.Loved it

Directed by Aisling Walsh

Sony Pictures Classics

Sally Hawkins, Ethan Hawke

My comments:  About halfway through the movie I realized that it had to be a biopic, based on a true story.  Had to be.  Maudie Lewis was Canada's Grandma Moses, born in 1903, died in 1970.  Sally Hawkins was amazing as a arthritically crippled painter, aging, becoming more bent and stooped while looking for the good in her curmudgeonly husband, played by Ethan Hawke.  He was pretty decent, too (but MUCH better looking than the real guy probably was), but Sally Hawkins stole the show completely.  Their actual life was lived in Nova Scotia, but the movie was filmed in Newfoundland and was just gorgeous.  The credits at the end of the film were interspersed with some of Maud Lewis's real paintings.  Superb movie, easily a five.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  MAUDIE, based on a true story, is an unlikely romance in which the reclusive Everett Lewis (Ethan Hawke) hires a fragile yet determined woman named Maudie (Sally Hawkins) to be his housekeeper. Maudie, bright-eyed but hunched with crippled hands, yearns to be independent, to live away from her protective family and she also yearns, passionately, to create art. Unexpectedly, Everett finds himself falling in love. MAUDIE charts Everett's efforts to protect himself from being hurt, Maudie's deep and abiding love for this difficult man and her surprising rise to fame as a folk painter.

PICTURE BOOK - What Degas Saw by Samantha Friedman

Illustrated by Cristina Pieropan
with reproductions of works by Edgar Degas (7 of them)

2016, The Museum of Modern Art, NYC

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 3.97 - 34 ratings

My rating: 4

Endpapers: Front: Pen and Ink people - Back: Made to look like a blank canvas

My comments:  The concept of the book is that Paris is changing and that Degas, as an artist, wanted to change with the times.  So he went out walking the streets of Paris, examining its people and their activities.  The explanation is in words and watercolor and ink illustrations, but when you turn the page, you see Degas' actual painting.  The writing was lovely, except for the first and last page. "The world was changing.  Paris was alive." (What, exactly, does this mean?).  Then, on the next-to-last page was my favorite paragraph, "Soon he would put brush to canvas, or pastel to paper, or ink to plate, and he would try to describe the city's push and pull, its run and hum, its lean and stretch."  But when you turn the page, it reads, "But for just a little while, all was still."  There is still activity on the streets.  Those two pages - because of their words - just didn't work for me.  Ah, well.  Otherwise, an excellent picture book.

Goodreads:  What Degas Saw looks at the world through a beloved artist’s eyes and provides insight into his creative process. Walking through the streets of Paris with cape and cane, the French artist Edgar Degas observes the world around him, finding inspiration at every turn. From the blurry faces of passersby glimpsed through a bus window to the sun-dappled landscape seen from a moving train, from the hunched profiles of laundresses at work to light-bathed ballerinas on the opera house stage, the artist—with open eyes and a curious mind—collects impressions of the people and places he sees. Accompanies major MoMA exhibition, Edgar Degas: A Strange New Beauty, on view March 26 through July 24, 2016.

PICTURE BOOK - Why is Art Full of Naked People and Other Vital Questions about Art? by Susie Hodge

Illustrated by Claire Goble

2016, Thames & Hudson, Britain

HC $19.95

96 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 4.12 - 25 ratings

My rating: 5
Glossary, Index

Endpapers: Light blue with all sorts of different question markes in white
Thick board cover - not sure why, it makes it appear to be a big board book, which it isn't

My comments:  When I picked up this book, before opening it I asked myself, "How can you write a whole book - for kids - explaining why art if full of naked people?" Well, come to find out, it's the second half of the title that really explains the book - Other Vital Questions About Art.  Hodge uses 88 pieces of well-known art by famous artists, and with humorous and informative short paragraphs answers good questions and gives interesting information while giving the reader a chance to examine great art.  As many times (hundreds!) that I've looked at Seurat's  "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Tatte" I never, ever realized that he'd drawn a frame around the picture using more dots - thousands of them!  I really, really enjoyed reading this book....and discovered quite a bit of new artists while doing so!

Goodreads: Why is Art Full of Naked People? is an irreverent and informative primer that asks tricky questions about what makes art art. What is with all the fruit? Why is art so weird nowadays? There are questions about how art views the world, from cave paintings through to Cubism, from the Renaissance to contemporary art, questions about different genres, including still-life painting, landscapes and portraits, and questions about the role and value of art in the past and today.
          Artists ask questions when they make art and viewers ask questions when they look at art; this book provides an engaging way for young people to explore asking and answering questions for themselves. The book is structured around twenty-two questions, each one tackled over two spreads. Through this provocative approach it offers an introduction to art history and a toolkit to enable young people to feel confident asking questions, searching for answers, and “reading” art for themselves.

PICTURE BOOK - The Artist and Me by Shane Peacock

Illustrated by Sophie Casson

2016 Owlkids Books

HC $16.95

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.92

My rating:  4.5

Endpapers:  white with pale blue/gray dabs of paint - a few generic photos in the front, none in the back

1^st line/s:  "In the beautiful countryside in southern France near the town of Arles long ago, I used to do an ugly thing."

My comments:  4.5  This book says SO much.  The story, from the point-of-view of a bully who was horrendous to VanGogh when he lived in Arles, is excellent and thought-provoking.  I love the way that Sophie Casson used Van Gogh's paintings and put her own "brand" to them for most of the illustrations in the book.  There is one illustration, however, that is a bit off-putting to me, a doubled page spread of the bullies laughing at him.  They are really ugly and don't fit with the rest of the story somehow.  Perhaps it's to show how ugly bullies really are?
     I've already got lots of lesson plans in mind to use with this book - both for Owning Up/ Annatude/ bullying and for the glory of VanGogh's art!  This is a really nice addition to the genre of art books for kids.
     1 - Van Gogh's art
     2 - info about Van Gogh (include info from the afterword)
     3 - read aloud the book
     4 - create a piece of art using the kinds of strokes that Van Gogh and Casson used

Publisher's Weekly review.
Kirkus review.

Goodreads:  Vincent van Gogh is now known as an acclaimed, incomparable Post-Impressionist painter. But when he lived in Arles, France, in the 1880s, he was mocked for being different. Back then, van Gogh was an eccentric man with wild red hair who used clashing hues to paint unusual-looking people and strange starry skies. Children and adults alike called him names and laughed at him. Nobody bought his art. But he kept painting.
          Inspired by these events, The Artist and Me is the fictional confession of one of van Gogh’s bullies — a young boy who adopted the popular attitude of adults around him. It’s not until the boy faces his victim alone that he realizes there is more than one way to see the world.
          Artwork in the book uses vibrant color and texture to bring the laneways, cafés, and wheat fields of southern France to life while playing on scenes from van Gogh’s own work. The lyrical text carries the emotional weight of the subject and will leave readers with the understanding that everyone’s point of view is valuable.

PICTURE BOOK - The Noisy Paint Box by Barb Rosenstock

The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky's Abstract Art
Illustrated by Mary Grandpre (of the Harry Potter series!)

2014, Alfred A. Knopf
HC  $17.99

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 4.29

My rating: 5-stars

Endpapers: Yellowed-out foggy impressions of a Kandinsky painting with colorful (what looks like) dabs of paint
Can I tell you how much I love the double-page-spread title page?  (big sigh)...gorgeous!

Author's Note at end of book

"I could hear this hiss of colors as they mingled." - VK

My comments:  Ever since I started looking at paintings and appreciating art, Vasily Kandinsky - and his gorgeously colorful abstract art - have been my very favorites.  I'll never forget standing in the Guggenheim Museum with the "real thing" in front of me.  This story was an eye-opening mini-biography that drew me into Kandinsky's world.  It also introduced me to the idea of synesthesia. Cool book.

Goodreads:  In this exuberant celebration of creativity, Barb Rosenstock and Mary Grandpre tell the fascinating story of Vasily Kandinsky, one of the very first painters of abstract art. Throughout his life, Kandinsky experienced colors as sounds, and sounds as colors--and bold, groundbreaking works burst forth from his noisy paint box.

Colorful Dreamer, The Story of Henri Matisse - Marjorie Blain Parker

Illustrated by Holly Berry

Dial Books for Young Readers, 2012

HC $16.99

Ellsworth Library

32 pages

Goodreads rating: 3.79

My rating: 3.5

Endpapers: Blue

Title Page:  Cutout letters, paintes, colorful, entire page full of art and information

Illustrations:  Black & white line drawings for the parts of Henri's life without color, color is introduced whenever he is creative or as he discovered it as a young man.  Then, as he became a painter, Berry creates the illustrations using the same sort of techniques that Matisse would have used.  

1^st line:   "Years ago a dreamy boy gazed out his bedroom window.  He lived in a dreary village in France.  It was an industrial town -- choked with factories, clanking looms, and smoking chimneys."

My reaction:  Although this is a very simple biography, the writing uses some really beautiful language. The illustrations reflect the text on each page - when there was no color in Matisse's life, the artist draws in black and white, when Matisse was being imaginative she used color, and as he eventually became a painter, investigating different styles, she used those styles to decorate the relevant pages. Another great model for biography writing, and a very nice introduction to a fabulous artist.

Goodreads:  An inspiring portrait of one of the world's most loved artists.  There was once a boy named Henri, whose dreams were full of color even though his hometown was dreary and gray. His parents expected him to learn a trade when he grew up, but being a law clerk bored him, and he continued to dream of a colorful, exciting life, and of being noticed. Then Henri started painting . . . and kept painting and dreaming and working at his craft until he'd become one of the most admired and famous artists in the world.  This lyrical, visually rich picture book is more than an excellent biography; at its core, this remarkable book is an encouragement to never give up on your dreams

The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau - Michelle Markel

Illustrated by Amanda Hall

2012, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers

HC "Ages 5-9"

32 pages

Goodreads rating: 4.17

My rating: 5

Endpapers: Lush jungle with flowers and animals

Title Page: Rousseau eating breakfast outside a cafe, with the Eiffel tower and a French flag in the background

Illustrations:  A+ Perfect for this book!

1^st line: "Henri Rousseau wants to be an artist.  Not a single person has ever told him he is talented.  He's a toll collector.  He's forty years old."

Goodreads: Henri Rousseau wanted to be an artist. But he had no formal training. Instead, he taught himself to paint. He painted until the jungles and animals and distant lands in his head came alive on the space of his canvases. Henri Rousseau endured the harsh critics of his day and created the brilliant paintings that now hang in museums around the world. Michelle Markel's vivid text, complemented by the vibrant illustrations of Amanda Hall, artfully introduces young readers to the beloved painter and encourages all readers to persevere despite all odds

My comments on Goodreads:  A wonderfully illustrated story of how Henri Rousseau, despite all sorts of negative appreciation, pursued the artistic career that he dearly wanted. He never gave up, and kept painting until he was quite old. This book really SHOWS how he worked and worked and never gave up. Interestingly, it's told in the present tense.