| 9780618756636 |
| 0618756639 |
Available:*
Library | Material Type | Call Number | Shelf Location | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... East Library | Children's Book | WIES | Children's-J-Easy | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Palmer Lake Library | Children's Book | WIES | Children's-J-Easy | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Penrose Library | Children's Book | WIES | Children's-J-Easy | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Ruth Holley Library | Children's Book | WIES | Children's-J-Easy | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Max and Arthur are friends who share an interest in painting. Arthur is an accomplished painter; Max is a beginner. Max's first attempt at using a paintbrush sends the two friends on a whirlwind trip through various artistic media, which turn out to have unexpected pitfalls. Although Max is inexperienced, he's courageous--and a quick learner. His energy and enthusiasm bring the adventure to its triumphant conclusion. Beginners everywhere will take heart.
Author Notes
American children's book author and illustrator David Wiesner was born in Bridgewater, New Jersey on February 5, 1956. He graduated with a BFA in Illustration from Rhode Island School of Design. Known for his imaginative work, Wiesner is particularly celebrated for using wordless storytelling in his picture books. His latest picture book is about two artists; it is entitled, Art & Max.
"Sector 7" and "Free Fall" are Caldecott Honor Books, while Wiesner won the prestigious Caldecott Medal for "Tuesday" (1992), "The Three Pigs" (2002), and "Flotsam" (2007). Wiesner is only the second person to have won this award three times.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 4-Underlying this tale of a feisty friendship between two lizards is a thought-provoking exploration of the creative process. Readers first encounter Arthur rendering a formal portrait of a stately reptile, one of several reacting to the unfolding drama in the desert. Frenetic Max dashes into the scene; he also wants to paint, but lacks ideas. Self-assured Art suggests, "Well.you could paint me." Max's literal response yields a more colorful Art, but the master's outrage causes his acrylic armor to shatter. His texture falls in fragments, leaving an undercoating of dusty pastels vulnerable to passing breezes. Each of Max's attempts to solve Art's problems leads to unexpected outcomes, until his mentor is reduced to an inked outline, one that ultimately unravels. Wiesner deftly uses panels and full spreads to take Max from his "aha" moment through the humorous and uncertain moments of reconstructing Art. Differentiated fonts clarify who's speaking the snippets of dialogue. Wielding a vacuum cleaner that soaks up the ruined scales, Max sprays a colorful stream, a la Jackson Pollock, that lands, surprisingly, in a Pointillist manner on the amazed lizard. The conclusion reveals that his fresh look inspires the senior artist with new vision, too. Funny, clever, full of revelations to those who look carefully-this title represents picture-book making at its best. Wiesner's inventive story will generate conversations about media, style, and, of course, "What Is Art?" It will resonate with children who live in a world in which actions are deemed mistakes or marvels, depending on who's judging.-Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Three-time Caldecott winner Wiesner (Flotsam) introduces a desert lizard named Art, a self-important portrait painter who undergoes a metamorphosis, inside and out, when his pesky lizard friend, Max, decides he wants to paint, too. "What should I paint?" asks Max; the narcissistic Art says, "Well... you could paint me." Literal-minded Max begins applying blue to Art's knobbly skin. A series of philosophical questions arises: is Art still Art when his painted coat bursts off him mid-tantrum, like a reptilian sun gone nova? Is he still Art when Max douses him with water and the remaining color drains right out of him, rendering him transparent? Is he still Art when his outline collapses into a pile of tangled wire? As Max attempts to reconstruct his friend, an early effort has Art resembling a preschooler's spiky drawing of a monster ("More detail, I think," Art says drily). This small-scale and surprisingly comedic story takes place against a placid backdrop of pale desert colors, which recedes to keep the focus squarely on the dynamic between the two lizards and the wide range of emotions that Wiesner masterfully evokes. Ages 5-8. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Wiesner, the recipient of three Caldecott Medals and two Caldecott Honors, offers another fantastical winner that plays with the boundaries of traditional storytelling. In an empty desert, Art, a horned lizard, paints a straightforward portrait. In dashes Max, a smaller, exuberant lizard, who wants to paint, too. Don't be ridiculous, scoffs Art, who begrudgingly relents: Just don't get in the way. Intimidated by his blank canvas, Max asks Art for subject ideas. You could paint me, says Art, a suggestion that Max interprets literally as he covers his pompous companion with color. Here, Wiesner's art hits its full surreal stride. In a furious explosion, Art sends the bright pigment flying. What's left of his body is a less solid form, still stained with color, which Max removes with a rinse of water, reducing Art to an outline that unravels with Max's touch. With a tentative Here goes, Max reconfigures the tangled heap back into his friend, finally spraying him with color in a pointillist style that inspires both reptilian artists to paint in wild, new ways. Kids may have questions about both the story's old-fashioned gadgets (a Victrola and a canister vacuum) and the dreamlike action, but they'll easily connect with the remarkably expressive lizards and with Max's elemental triumph over a bossy authority figure. Sophisticated and playful, this beautiful mind-stretcher invites viewers to think about art's fundamentals: line, color, shape, and imaginative freedom.--Engberg, Gillian Copyright 2010 Booklist
