by Nadia Wheatley & illustrated by Matt Ottley ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2001
Luke draws the nose and ears in the wrong place in a portrait. And worst of all he draws a completely imaginary view of the scene through the classroom window. Mr. Barraclough totally rejects Luke’s artistic attempts. He screams at Luke, tears his work, and even destroys his brushes. Friday art class becomes a torment. One Friday Luke gets on a bus, and discovers a museum of modern art. “For the first time in his life, Luke felt at home.” (This brings up some unanswered questions about his home life. Perhaps his teacher is not the only one who rejects his vision.) He sees abstract and surreal paintings and sculptures that look just perfect to him. He is carried back to school in such a state of euphoria that even the bus ride presents him with exciting new visions. He arrives just in time to join the art class and paints a watermelon of such surreal beauty that even Mr. Barraclough is speechless. In a visual tour de force Ottley uses a dazzling variety of styles, media, and techniques that virtually encapsulate a history of modern art and includes visual references to Picasso, Dali, Pollock, and more. On the surface Wheatley’s text and Ottley’s illustrations present a plea for understanding that the artist’s vision should be accepted, appreciated, and allowed to express itself freely. However, there appears to be something disturbing here too. Mr. Barraclough is presented as a raging, monstrous figure both in the text and the illustrations. He doesn’t just disapprove of Luke’s art; he becomes a depiction of evil. Mr. Barraclough and everything in the ordinary world are drawn in pen and ink with an emphasis on shadows. Only Luke’s paintings and the works in the museum are given color. As Luke is awakened to the “rightness” of his vision, he and the world around him take on color and brightness. Mr. B. doesn’t achieve color until he ceases to denigrate Luke’s work. So what is the message? Who decides what art is good art? In the end there is no real respect for different visions; they are merely placed in warring camps, sure to stir up controversy. (Picture book. 8-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-929132-18-2
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2001
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by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer ; illustrated by Simini Blocker ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 18, 2019
Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock”...
The theme of persistence (for better or worse) links four tales of magic, trickery, and near disasters.
Lachenmeyer freely borrows familiar folkloric elements, subjecting them to mildly comical twists. In the nearly wordless “Hip Hop Wish,” a frog inadvertently rubs a magic lamp and finds itself saddled with an importunate genie eager to shower it with inappropriate goods and riches. In the title tale, an increasingly annoyed music-hating witch transforms a persistent minstrel into a still-warbling cow, horse, sheep, goat, pig, duck, and rock in succession—then is horrified to catch herself humming a tune. Athesius the sorcerer outwits Warthius, a rival trying to steal his spells via a parrot, by casting silly ones in Ig-pay Atin-lay in the third episode, and in the finale, a painter’s repeated efforts to create a flattering portrait of an ogre king nearly get him thrown into a dungeon…until he suddenly understands what an ogre’s idea of “flattering” might be. The narratives, dialogue, and sound effects leave plenty of elbow room in Blocker’s big, brightly colored panels for the expressive animal and human(ish) figures—most of the latter being light skinned except for the golden genie, the blue ogre, and several people of color in the “Sorcerer’s New Pet.”
Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock” music. (Graphic short stories. 8-10)Pub Date: June 18, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-59643-750-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
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by Megan McDonald & illustrated by Peter Reynolds ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2002
McDonald’s irrepressible third-grader (Judy Moody Gets Famous, 2001, etc.) takes a few false steps before hitting full stride. This time, not only has her genius little brother Stink submitted a competing entry in the Crazy Strips Band-Aid design contest, but in the wake of her science teacher’s heads-up about rainforest destruction and endangered animals, she sees every member of her family using rainforest products. It’s all more than enough to put her in a Mood, which gets her in trouble at home for letting Stink’s pet toad, Toady, go free, and at school for surreptitiously collecting all the pencils (made from rainforest cedar) in class. And to top it off, Stink’s Crazy Strips entry wins a prize, while she gets . . . a certificate. Chronicled amusingly in Reynolds’s frequent ink-and-tea drawings, Judy goes from pillar to post—but she justifies the pencil caper convincingly enough to spark a bottle drive that nets her and her classmates not only a hundred seedling trees for Costa Rica, but the coveted school Giraffe Award (given to those who stick their necks out), along with T-shirts and ice cream coupons. Judy’s growing corps of fans will crow “Rare!” right along with her. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-7636-1446-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2002
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