A soft, sad, lovely introduction to a masterpiece.
Vincent van Gogh’s lifelong insomnia leads to his masterwork The Starry Night.
Starting as a toddler, wide awake in a cradle, “Vincent can’t sleep.” He sees “pink and yellow starlit shapes that twinkle on the ceiling”; the illustration uses those starlit reflections and the real stars outside to begin the visual theme of The Starry Night. A bit older, he runs outdoors at night, lies down in a field, and “snuggles under a blanket of sapphire sky.” He’s at peace right then, but the text is poetically clear that peace wasn’t plentiful: he “runs into the soothing darkness and is brought back to the harsh light over and over again.” He “draws, writes, and sighs alone”; he drifts, lost, creating “canvas after canvas like radiant chapters in a book only Vincent can read.” He’s hospitalized for an unnamed illness. He works hard to know: “Does darkness have a texture? / Thick? / Thin?…Is the night sky at rest? Or do eleven stars pulse like a beating heart?” Together, text and pictures balance his unsettled melancholy against beauty and harmony. Facially, van Gogh looks much like any GrandPré face; however, GrandPré’s acrylic, pen, and watercolor spreads make marvelous use of dark blues with yellows, putty hues and pinks with swirls, and curving lines, all building to a tender, magnificent final spread.
A soft, sad, lovely introduction to a masterpiece. (images of original art, author’s note, sources) (Picture book/biography. 6-10)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-93710-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
Lipman Pike played “Base” every chance he could get in his Brooklyn neighborhood. His parents were not sure it was the right thing for a Jewish boy to be doing, but they also want him to fit in with his peers. This was post–Civil War America, and the game was still in its infancy, at least in terms of organized play. The first leagues were loosely formed and were for amateurs, although several players were secretly paid. When Lip grew up, he was fast and strong and could hit for distance. He played variously for teams in Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York City and Troy, N.Y. He often faced anti-Semitism and distrust, but he won over his teammates and the “cranks” with his outstanding play. He led his league in home runs and even proved he could outrun a racehorse. Michelson adeptly employs fictional conversations interwoven with factual details as he reconstructs a long-forgotten time, managing to bring Pike’s story out of obscurity and relate it to modern young readers. Pullen’s lively, large-scale, brightly colored illustrations vividly capture the action and the time period. Text pages are augmented with sepia drawings of 19th-century newspapers, baseball scenes and equipment. An insight into baseball and America that is at once historical and timeless. (author's note) (Picture book. 6-10)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-465-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Two words in the subtitle totally encompass the approach of this highly creative alphabet biography—wit and wisdom. Like his subject, Schroeder is inventive; he profiles a major historic figure with amusing alphabetic tidbits that capture the spirit and substance of the man. Who knew that Franklin liked to take daily nude "air baths" (N for Newspaper, Navigation and Nude)? Multiple citations, with definitions, for each letter are boxed and set against a scenic background. The forefront entry for R, for instance, stands for Revolutionary War and is followed by Reading, Resolution and Rod; the illustration that accompanies manages to incorporate all of those elements either literally or metaphorically and add a laugh, to boot. Indeed, the format would be bland without O’Brien’s finely drawn lines that humorously detail the scenes. He comically tucks adages in small banners here and there, such as: “Wise men don’t need advice. Fools won’t take it” and “Either write something worth reading or do things worth writing.” From A for Almanac to Q for Quaker to Z for Zeal and back to A for American, this robust representation IS witty and wise. Using the alphabet as a device for informing and amusing continues to be a favorite with authors and illustrators, and Schroeder and O’Brien have set a new standard. Outstanding. (Alphabet biography. 6-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8234-1950-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
