Coppernickel Goes Mondrian

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday

hosted today by Jean Little Library

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Enchanted Lion Books

(pub. 5.8.12) 40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor and illustrator: Wouter Van Reek 

C haracter: fictional Mr. Quickstep (alias for Piet Mondrian) 

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "Mr. Quickstep (alias for Mondrian) is looking for the future. On the way, he bumps into Coppernickel. Coppernickel tells Mr. Quickstep he shouldn't bother looking since the future will arrive anyway. Quickstep disagrees, for the future he's after doesn't exist, but needs to be discovered. What stands out in this graphically distinguished homage to one of the great artists of the 20th century is the idea that the future is ours to create. A wonderfully imaginative story about art, vision and creativity!" 

        

T antalizing taste: 

           "'Look, I'm on the verge of a completely new future,' says Mr. Quickstep. 'I can feel it.'

             'But there's still something missing ... a touch of something so new it may not even exist yet.'

[Illustration shows Mr. Quickstep in his studio with classic Mondrian primary color square/rectangle paintings against the wall. And he's holding a roll of tape.]

            'What have you got here?' says Coppernickel. 'This is great stuff! Does it stick to everything? Can I give it a try?'

         

and something more: The note at the back of Coppernickel Goes Mondrian explains that "In the 1930s, with Hitler's rise to power, Mondrian realized he could no longer stay in Paris, so he fled, first to London, then to New York ... He loved New York immediately, with its straight avenues, skyscrapers, busy streets and vibrant atmosphere... His new friends took him to dance halls where the very newest music, the boogie-woogie, was being played. .. New York thus inspired him to recreate himself once again... For the first time, he began to stick lengths of colored tape onto his canvases. This allowed him to move and shift his colors as often as he liked until everything looked just right. Only then would he replace the colored tape with paint.  It was in this way that he created his renowned, Broadway Boogie Woogie."

       San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has a wonderful Mondrian painting, New York City 2 (unfinished), that still has tape on it so viewers get to see Mondrian's process.  As a docent for school groups at SFMOMA, I've led a fun art project in front of this artwork in which students  use colored tape to create their own Mondrian inspired paintings. They always create wonderful art!

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The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday
hosted today by Wrapped in Foil

and joins It's Monday!
What are you reading?
at Teacher Mentor Texts

Eerdmans Books
for Young Readers

(pub. 6.11.2012) 34 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Michelle Markel

     and Illustrator:  Amanda Hall

C haracter: Henri Rousseau

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "Henri Rousseau loved nature, and basked in the beauty of the sunshine and the towering trees of Paris. He wanted to capture all of this, so he taught himself to paint. And then he worked until the jungles and animals and distant lands in his head came alive on the space of his canvases.
      Rousseau endured many harsh critics to create his brilliant paintings. Michelle Markel's vivid text and Amanda Hall's vibrant illustrations together artfully introduce young readers to this beloved painter."
        

T antalizing taste: 

"Henri Rousseau wants to be an artist. 
Not a single person has ever told him he is talented. 
He's a toll collector. 
He' s forty years old.

      

But he buys some canvas, paint, and brushes, 

and starts painting anyway.

Why? Because he loves nature. Because

when he strolls through the parks of Paris,

it's like the flowers open their hearts,

the trees spread their arms, and the sun

is a blushing ruby, all for him."

                       

and something more: I didn't realize that Henri Rousseau began painting at age forty without formal training, and that his art was ridiculed year after year. Michelle Markel's Author's Note in The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau explains that he "gradually developed a following. Avant-garde artists and writers such as Picasso, Delaunay, Jarry, and Apollinaire admired his innocence and charm."
          And, although he is best known for his jungle paintings, he could never afford to leave Paris. Instead, he travelled in his mind. As he said to a journalist, "I don't know if you're like me ... but when I go into the glass houses and I see the strange plants of exotic lands, it seems to me that I enter into a dream. I feel that I'm somebody else completely."  The power of imagination! 

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Abe Lincoln's Dream

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday
hosted today by Booktalking

and joins It's Monday!
What are you reading?

at Teacher Mentor Texts

Roaring Brook Press

(pub. 10.16.12) 32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor and illustrator: Lane Smith

C haracter: fictional girl with ghost of Abe Lincoln

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "How long should a man's legs be? [answer: long enough to reach the floor]

       The 16th president had recurring dreams, liked corny jokes, and now his ghost paces the White House fretting about the state of the union. It takes a a little girl on a school tour - armed with a few corny jokes of her own - to answer his questions and settle his spirit.

        From one of our most celebrated picture book artists comes an affectionate ode to our most celebrated president and the nation he shaped. Inspired by true stories and White House trivia, Lane Smiths' Lincoln takes flight with characteristic humor and extraordinary artistry."

        

T antalizing taste: 

           "Then one day a girl wandering from her tour discovered a tall man standing over the Gettysburg address.'

           'Hi,' said Quincy.

           'Hello, child,' he said.

            He was dressed in black from hat to boot, but she wasn't frightened; he had a long face that made her feel sorry for him.

            'Are you lost?' she asked.

            'I don't think so,' he said, walking through a wall.

         

and something more: I was intrigued to learn that Lane Smith's wife, Molly Leach, is the designer of his creative whimsical books, including Abe Lincoln's Dream. I loved what he wrote about her on his website: [She's the] greatest book designer working today. She has designed nearly all of my books. When she designed the Stinky Cheese Man back in 1992 folks called it a 'watershed moment.' Suddenly every designer wanted to make books with crazy type and upside-down pages. The problem is it is very hard to do unless you know how. Molly knows how. She is also very funny and very pretty...She makes everything I do 100 times better but since most people don’t know what a designer does, I usually get all the credit. This isn’t fair." Well, here's to both Molly Leach AND Lane Smith -- a great team!

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Helen's Big World

The Life of Helen Keller

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday hosted today by

The Miss Rumphius Effect

and joins It's Monday! What are you reading?
at Teacher Mentor Texts

Disney Hyperion Books

(pub. 10.16.12)  48 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Doreen Rappaport

     and Illustrator:  Matt Tavares

C haracter: Helen Keller

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "Blind, deaf, and unable to speak from toddlerhood, young Helen Keller lived in a dark, silent world. Despite her handicaps, Helen wanted to experience every part of life; with her passion for discovery and the help of an unrivaled teacher, Annie Sullivan, Helen found that knowledge would soon lead to freedom... And with knowledge and freedom came wisdom... And with her wisdom, Helen knew that she could change the world by speaking out against the injustices she witnessed...
       With her signature style of prose laced with stirring quotes, Doreen Rappaport brings to life Helen Keller's poignant narrative. Acclaimed illustrator Matt Tavares captures the dynamism and verve of Helen Keller's life and legacy, making Helen's Big World an unforgettable portrait of a woman whose vision for progress changed America - and the world - forever."

        

T antalizing taste: 

           "But some people questioned how Helen could describe things that she could not see or hear. They did not understand that she could smell lilacs and roses and feel the golden rays of the sun on her face and the soft, springy earth under her feet."

          

and something more:  In the Illustrator's Note, Matt Tavares explains the challenges of illustrating Helen's Big World: "[At first] I was overwhelmed by the challenge of trying to visually capture the story of a person who could not see or hear. It seemed impossible... I realized that maybe I was thinking about Helen Keller the wrong way. I was defining her by her deafness and blindness, but there was so much more to her story. Helen Keller never saw the ocean or heard the sound of crashing waves. But she could feel the exhilaration of jumping in the water. She could ride in a sailboat, and feel the fluttering in her stomach as the sea rose and fell. She could taste the salty ocean spray, and feel the cold water as it splashed on her face. I ... tried to make sure my pictures focused on all the things she could do ..." 
            Two of Matt Tavare's illustrations (one of which is the cover) echo Doreen Rappaport's text by showing Helen Keller, in profile as a young woman and then as an older woman, reveling in the smell of a rose "and feel [of] the golden rays of the sun on her face."  

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Imogen

The Mother of Modernism
and Three Boys

Thiis post is part of Nonfiction Monday hosted today
by Perogies & Gyoza

And joins It's Monday!

What are you reading?

at Teacher Mentor Texts

Cameron + Company

(pub. 12.11.12) 32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Amy Novesky
       Illustrator: Lisa Congdon

C haracter: Imogen Cunningham

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "Flash forward. Imogen is a photographer and a mother. She has her hands full! How does she do it all?  She turns the garden into a wonderland for her three growing boys and a workshop for herself. While she works, her boys play, and Imogen photographs them. CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. Photographing her sons leads Imogen to focus on the plants and flowers - most notably her signature magnolia blossoms - for which she will become known."

        

T antalizing taste: 

       "CLICK. Freckled ears and feathered headdresses.
       Glowing birthday cakes. Her three growing boys.
       She photographed her bespectacled father. Her
mother with a crown of silver spoons.
       Imogen found a little beauty in everything."

          

and something more: Last Monday, November 12th, was Imogen Cunningham Day in San Francisco. I was thrilled to attend the book launch party that day for IMOGEN -The Mother of Modernism and Three Boys at a wonderful indie bookstore, Books Inc., in San Francisco.  My writer friend, Amy Novesky, gave a wonderful presentation and shared intriguing anecdotes about Imogen, including meeting one of Imogen's sons, now in his 90s, who also became a photographer. And even the publisher told about a personal connection to Imogen. The founder, Robert Cameron (photographer and publisher of the ABOVE books), actually owned an Imogen photograph.
          My favorite page of the book reads: "And for one hour every afternoon, while the boys napped, Imogen focused on her flowers, including a common magnolia blossom she shot close up." The lovely close-up illustration of Imogen with her camera focused on a blossom echoes the lyrical text.
          The Author's Note includes an inspiring quote from Imogen:

"You can't expect things to be smooth and easy and beautiful. You just have to work, find your way out, and do anything you can yourself."

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