Picture Book Biography - The Iridescence of Birds: A Book About Henri Matisse by Patricia MacLachlan

Illustrated by Hadley Hooper

2014, Roaring Book Pres/ A Neal Porter Book

HC $17.99

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.06 - 1586 ratings

My rating:  4.5
Endpapers:  bright, solid orange-red

1^st line/s:  The book appears to all be one sentence!!!!   "If you were a boy named Henri Matisse who lived in a dreary town in northern France where the skies were gray/ And the days were cold/ And you wanted color and light/ And sun, / And your mother, to brighten your days,/ Painted plates to hang on the walls/ With picture of meadows and trees,/ Rivers and birds, ...."

My comments: Patricia MacLachlan, one of my favorite authors, has written a simple book about Henri Matisse and where his artistic inspiration came from.  Hadley Hooper has used simple, beautiful illustrations to accentuate the story that MacLachlan tells.  This book is totally charming, especially if you are an admirer of Matisse's art.  Yup, he's also one of my favorites...

Goodreads:  If you were a boy named Henri Matisse who lived in a dreary town in northern France, what would your life be like? Would it be full of color and art? Full of lines and dancing figures?
          Find out in this beautiful, unusual picture book about one of the world's most famous and influential artists by acclaimed author and Newbery Medal-winning Patricia MacLachlan and innovative illustrator Hadley Hooper.

PICTURE BOOK - Math at the Art Museum by Group Majoongmul

From the copyright page:  "Majoongmul is a Korean word that refers to "priming water" poured into a pump to start the flow before pumping water from a well.  Group Majoongmul is the name of the authors' group that creates books that serve as the priming water within children's hearts.
Illustrated by Yun-ju Kim

2015 TanTan Publishing - originally published in Korea

HC $16.95

32 nice, thick pgs.

Goodreads rating: 3.92 - 24 ratings

My rating: 4

Endpapers: Mottled cream

1^st line/s: "My sister and I are going to the art museum with our parents!  'It's interesting that math can be found in art," Dad says.'"

My comments:  Many famous artists' work is represented in this art appreciation book for kids, each named and identified well.  At first I was a bit reluctant to see particular paintings included until I realized that point-of-view/perspective is, indeed, math.  Included are famous paintings by Jasper Johns, Seurat, Kandinsky, Leger, Picasso, Degas, Magritte, Matisse, and Dali, as well as two that I must learn more about: Giuseppe Arcimboldo and Kim Jae-hong.   The last five pages are informational and include activities for kids that combine art and math.

Goodreads:  This charming and colorful book incorporates mathematical concepts by introducing children to a fresh perspective on math through art
          When his father tells him there’s math in art, a young boy is suspicious of the idea. But when the boy explores paintings and other masterpieces with his sister and their parents, he begins to understand there is math in art, both hidden and visible. He sees, too, that math in art is brilliant—and beautiful! Hands-on activities and elementary mathematical concepts that relate to perspective, composition, symmetry, patterns, and other elements in artwork turn exploring art into an eye-opening adventure.

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 Stories of the Mona Lisa - Piotr Barsony

An Imaginary Museum Tale About the History of Modern Art

Illustrated by the author

Translated from the French by Joanna Oseman

Sky Pony Press, NY: 2012

HC $19.95

56 pages

Goodreads rating: 3.31

My rating: 4/excellent

Endpapers: gray with blurry black 1" dots and plops of colorful paint dots as well

Title Page: all white, but font is in colors and type that look like pastel crayons were used

Illustrations: In the style of many different artists

1^st line: "Dad, will you tell me a story?"

My review on Goodreads:  I was at the Philadelphia Museum of Art today and before leaving, sat on the floor of the (incredible) bookstore checking out the many children's picture books about art and artists.  I loved this one. In it, the artist/author shows the different ways in which different important/famous artists would have painted the Mona Lisa if they'd used their own styles. I do wish that that premise might have been made a little clearer to kids (I knew that Monet, Picasso, vanGogh, Haring, Kandinsky and a dozen or so others had never painted any Mona Lisas, but kids might not understand that).  Otherwise, it was a topnotch book with a great explanation of some of the different art movements in recent(or somewhat recent) history.  I had to buy it. I've already read it twice.

Goodreads review:   This book is about the fascinating history of modern painting through what many consider the most famous work in the history of art: the Mona Lisa by Léonardo De Vinci. Piotr acts as the museum guide for his young daughter throughout the book, taking us on a journey through an imaginary museum. He describes famous art movements and artists, including: impressionism, cubism, expressionism, favism, minimalism, surrealism; Monet, Manet, Cézanne, Picasso, Bacon, Pollock, and more. All of the most famous painters of the modern and contemporary art movements are explained with their own Mona Lisa portraits, in their signature styles.   Throughout the book, Piotr acts as a guide, explaining to his daughter (and the reader) each genre of paintings in a clear, simple, and entertaining way. By the end of the book, we discover that he's actually the artist who's been painting all those Mona Lisa's and the results are spectacular. 

13 Artists Children Should Know - Angela Wenzel

A Prestel Publication
Rating: 5
Published April, 2009
Endpapers: blue, no dust cover
$14.99 at B&N (store)

This is a wonderful model for further research and writing. Each of the thirteen artist pages include famous painting, kid-friendly information and anecdotes about the artist, tips, and further readig suggetions. Also is a "try this" for each! Artists included are:

Leonardo daVinci (the Mona Lisa, Last Supper, and Vitruvian Man)
Jan Vermeer (The Girl with a Pearl Earring)
Claude Monet (many)
Mary Casatt
Vincent VanGogh
Henri Matisse
Pul Klee
Franz Marc
Pablo Picasso
Marc Chagall
Frida Kahlo
Andy Warhol

Any kid that enjoys art, art appreciation, or famous artists would enjoy this book. I want to add Wassily Kandinsky, Keith Haring, and Georgia O'Keeffe. Maybe next year my fourth graders will add to it...hmmm.....

Gertrude is Gertrude is Gertrude is Gertrude - Jonah Winter

Illustrator: Calef Brown
Published: 2009
For: Kids
Rating: Still mulling
Endpapers: Deep purple
$16.99

Okay, I've heard of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas and their marijuana brownies and interesting soirees with artists and writers, but I had no clue what kind of writer Gertrude was. This book let me know. At first, as I read, I wondered what in heck was going on, but it slowly dawned on me that this must be modeled by Stein's writing. For example:

"Gertrude is Gertrude is Gertrude is Gertrude. And Alice is Alice. And Gertrude and Alice are Gertrude and Alice. Well it's like this. You walk up the stairs, and there they are. They are sitting in chairs and there they are, staring where they are staring. Not the chairs. Chairs never stare. Chairs are where you sit and stare....."

In the author's note at the end, Winter states: "Her very famous writing was famous for being repetitive, playful, childlike, conversational, and often quite nonsensical. And her very famous writing has bee imitated by many other writers, including the author of this book, whose title is an imitation of her most quoted line: 'Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose......Often mocked in her lifetime, Stein is now praised for being among the most original and influential voices of the twentieth century."

Mentioned particularly are Picasso, Matisse, and Hemingway. But how much will kids get this? I bet there aren't a lot of ADULTS who would recognize her style of writing. Her name, perhaps, and the title of one of her books, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas. But has anyone of this generation read it? I'm going to look it up and see if it's readily available, or at the library.....

I recognize Caleb Brown's work. His illustrations fit perfectly with the text and funky writing, full color from edge-of-page to edge-of-page. A fun book.

Ed Spicer writes a "rave" review on his blog, Reading Roadtrips. Check it out!