Today's book celebrates art museums and it explores the nature of creativity.
Susan Verde
Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Picture Book
For ages 6 and up
Abrams, 2013, 978-1-4197-0594-6
One sunny day a girl goes to the art museum and when she
looks at a work of art she doesn’t just see the painting or the sculpture, she
reacts to it. As she tells us, “something happens in my heart.” Her response to
the art cannot be contained and her body “goes into action.”
When she sees a
painting of a ballet dancer she feels that she needs to pose as a dancer does
and stand on her “tippy-toes.” A painting of swirling stars in a night sky
makes her feel “twirly swirly,” while a painting of a sad blue face makes her
feel lonely and down. A field of flowers makes her feel skippy, and abstract
colorful swirls and squiggles give her a fit of the “giggles.”
Then the girl
comes across a large empty canvas. What does it mean? Is the non-painting “a
joke?”
In this
delightful picture book the author and illustrator celebrate art museums and
the journeys and adventures that they allow us to take when we look at the
artworks in their galleries. The story also explores the way art can be created
out of nothing, cajoled out into the open by inspiration and creativity. The
emotions the little girl in the story experiences seem to bounce off the pages,
and the ending will give readers of all ages something to think about.