Reviews

Gr 1-3-A creative way to instill an appreciation of art in children. The text begins with a "hand-printed" letter on lined paper from the teacher, Ms. Brandt, posing three questions to her students for their reports about a famous artist. The rest of the book is related as Keesia Johnson's report. Hartland's color illustrations are captioned with dialogue or other text; examples of Matisse's art are dispersed throughout; and there are photos of the artist and his mother; of the child who "wrote" the report and her sister; of Matisse in his 70s, making paper cutouts; and of stained-glass windows in a church that he designed. A brief biographical sketch is included, and children are also told about Matisse's changes in style, use of bright colors, and skill in various mediums. The last page contains the teacher's "hand-printed" note to Keesia after reading her work. This book could be used in conjunction with Mike Venezia's Henri Matisse (Children's, 1997), Nelly Munthe's Meet Matisse (Little, Brown, 1983; o.p.), and Ernest Lloyd Raboff's Henri Matisse (Lippincott, 1988; o.p.) to introduce the life and works of this renowned French artist.-Augusta R. Malvagno, Queens Borough Public Library, NY Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.