| 9781596439481 |
| (hardcover) |
| 1596439483 |
Available:*
Library | Material Type | Call Number | Shelf Location | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Summary
Summary
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.
A Neal Porter Book
Author Notes
Patricia MacLachlan (1938-2022) was the award-winning author of many novels for children, including the Newbery Medal and Scott O'Dell Award-winning Sarah, Plain and Tall , which was adapted into a Hallmark television movie starring Glenn Close and Christopher Walken. She co-wrote the teleplay for the film as well as for two sequels, Skylark and Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End , based on her novels.
Honored with a Christopher Award and a National Humanities Medal among many others, MacLachlan was also the author of Baby , Waiting for the Magic , The Truth of Me , and the picture books Someone Like Me (illustrated by Chris Sheban), and The Iridescence of Birds: A Book About Henri Matisse (illustrated by Hadley Hooper).
Hadley Hooper works as an editorial illustrator for numerous magazines and newspapers. In 2011 she illustrated Here Come the Girl Scouts! by Shana Corey. The Iridescence of Birds is her second picture book and first for Roaring Brook Press. She lives in Denver, Colorado.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-This richly textured picture book looks at Henri Matisse's inspiration as a young boy, beginning with a spread depicting the gray, clammy French village in which he grew up. But while it is cold and damp outside, Matisse's mother fills the interior of their home with light through pattern and color. She paints natural scenes on plates, allows her son to mix and experiment with paint, and covers every possible surface with color. They are surrounded by their art. This look at Matisse's creativity and artistic process is strong and unusual for several reasons. Maclachlan concentrates on Matisse's mother and her influence on his eventual career. Her poetic text doesn't give the specific details of the man's life, but readers come away with a real sense of his art. Hooper's art, a combination of relief printmaking and digital techniques, expands readers' understanding of the text. They have strong solid lines, contrasting with the wide range of pastel colors. Hooper isn't derivative of Matisse's style but rather takes his tools and creates something new. On one spread, the background features a piece of Matisse's art; careful viewers will notice the artist in the foreground, growing from a boy into a man. The book gives off a creative energy that readers of all ages will find fulfilling. The simplicity of the text makes this book appropriate to use as a springboard to Matisse's work for even the very young. A poetic look at creativity, both natural and nurtured.-Susan E. Murray, formerly at Glendale Public Library, AZ (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Starred Review. In one long, singing sentence (and a briefer second one that's no less lyrical), MacLachlan (Snowflakes Fall) takes what's known of Matisse's upbringing and shows how naturally it leads into a life as an artist. "If you were a boy named Henri Matisse who lived/ in a dreary town in Northern France where the skies were gray," she starts, as Hooper (Here Come the Girl Scouts!) draws a bundled-up boy crossing a village square in the wintry dusk. As MacLachlan shows how Matisse's mother brought color into her son's life, Hooper's woodcutlike images recall Matisse's organic forms and brilliant hues while preserving her own style. Small Henri feeds pigeons, "Watching... their colors that changed with the light... That your mother called iridescence." On the next page, the boy stands opposite the man Matisse, who holds a palette. "Would it be a surprise that you became/ A fine painter who painted/ Light/ and Movement/ And the iridescence of birds?" It's a sumptuous meditation on the way artists see and feel, one that possesses an iridescence of its own. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content LLC. Illustrator's agent: Marlena Agency. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Could an essential, spirited picture book capture the brightness of a childhood that inspired a lifetime of genius? In two long, lyrical sentences, MacLachlan wonders about the early years of Henri Matisse, who grew up in a cold, gray city in northern France and was warmed by the colors of the paints, fabrics, and birds that surrounded him. Posing her thoughts as questions, MacLachlan distills Matisse's first experiences, assembling them in rough detail to communicate their emotional impact, much like the Fauvist master her subject became. Hooper's vivid block-print illustrations vibrate and hum, echoing Matisse's lively sense of dynamic composition and brilliant color. In expansive spreads that fill the pages, she shows us a boy who thrilled to his environs, especially their hues, patterns, and iridescence. A central spread has young Henri climbing a ladder on the left while his grown self stands on the opposite side, demonstrating inspiration that has been realized. Thereafter, the child and adult Matisse occupy the pages together, sharing the space, now filled with the artist's iconic imagery, and fulfilling their communal promise. Endnotes by the author and illustrator illuminate the depth and specificity of their research and suggest further reading.--Barthelmess, Thom Copyright 2010 Booklist
