Tuesday, October 19, 2010

All Things Kid Lit: Art and Max

Picture Book Pick of the Week:
 Art and Max by David Wiesner book cover

Art & Max
by David Wiesner
Published by Clarion Books (October 2010)

Three-time Caldecott medalist David Wiesner offers a playful, thought-provoking, and visually stunning look at the creative process. Full-color illustrations in acrylic, pastel, watercolor, and India ink.

illustration of David Wiesner Art and max book

From School Library Journal:

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.


I really love Wiesner's books, especially the classic Tuesday. I'm very excited that this new book will be at the book fair that starts Thursday!

4 comments:

Anna said...

I received an unexpected review copy of this book, and I really enjoyed it. My daughter is big into art and even though she's too old for this book, she enjoyed it, too.

Alyce said...

This looks like a fabulous children's book!

Veens said...

I Love the Art on this one! Fab!

Lisa said...

Love David Weisner! Wish my kids were still young enough to still enjoy his books!

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