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Art and Artists: Picture Books
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From: Megan Schliesman <schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu>
Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2013 10:40:44 -0500
Two books that were included in CCBC Choices 2013, the CCBC's most recent best-of-the-year list, were "Monet Paints a Day" by Julie Danneberg, illustrated by Caitlyn Heimerl (Charlesbridge, 2012) and "Just Behave, Pablo Picasso!" by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes (Arthur A. Levine / Scholastic, 2012).
We often pair these in booktalks, because they showcase two completely different ways to approach writing about an artist in picture books. "Monet Paints a Day" focuses on a single day when Claude Monet is painting the waves and stone arch at Manneporte along the Normandy coast. So intensely is he focused on trying to capture the light and movement that he doesn’t notice the tide coming in until it sweeps him into a tumble of waves. I love the narrative's lyrical language, and just as Robin mentioned regarding the Horace Pippin book, there is great end material, in this case telling more about Monet, Impressionism, and technical aspects of his painting.
By contrast, "Just Behave, Pablo Picasso!" is an overview of Pablo Picasso's career as a painter, and how he would stick with a single style for a period of time but then was eager to move on to something new--sometimes totally new, as in the case of Cubism. To my mind, the narrative and art together cast him in a superhero role--the artist as defender of free expression and creativity. It's quirky and fun and thought-provoking all at once.
When we had this book at a CCBC book discussion last year, there were very mixed responses, include a pretty vehement negative reaction. But I have found that I like this book more and more every time I interact with it.
Megan
-- Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706
608/262-9503 schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Wed 10 Apr 2013 10:40:44 AM CDT
Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2013 10:40:44 -0500
Two books that were included in CCBC Choices 2013, the CCBC's most recent best-of-the-year list, were "Monet Paints a Day" by Julie Danneberg, illustrated by Caitlyn Heimerl (Charlesbridge, 2012) and "Just Behave, Pablo Picasso!" by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes (Arthur A. Levine / Scholastic, 2012).
We often pair these in booktalks, because they showcase two completely different ways to approach writing about an artist in picture books. "Monet Paints a Day" focuses on a single day when Claude Monet is painting the waves and stone arch at Manneporte along the Normandy coast. So intensely is he focused on trying to capture the light and movement that he doesn’t notice the tide coming in until it sweeps him into a tumble of waves. I love the narrative's lyrical language, and just as Robin mentioned regarding the Horace Pippin book, there is great end material, in this case telling more about Monet, Impressionism, and technical aspects of his painting.
By contrast, "Just Behave, Pablo Picasso!" is an overview of Pablo Picasso's career as a painter, and how he would stick with a single style for a period of time but then was eager to move on to something new--sometimes totally new, as in the case of Cubism. To my mind, the narrative and art together cast him in a superhero role--the artist as defender of free expression and creativity. It's quirky and fun and thought-provoking all at once.
When we had this book at a CCBC book discussion last year, there were very mixed responses, include a pretty vehement negative reaction. But I have found that I like this book more and more every time I interact with it.
Megan
-- Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706
608/262-9503 schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Wed 10 Apr 2013 10:40:44 AM CDT
