PPBF: The Noisy Paintbox

So I guess Perfect Picture Book Friday has become Perfect Picture Book Saturday. Sorry I’m a little late. Without further ado…

TITLE:  The Noisy Paint Box

AUTHOR: Barb Rosenstock

ILLUSTRATOR: Mary GrandPré

PUBLICATION INFO: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2014

ISBN: 9780307978486

SOURCE: library

INTENDED AUDIENCE: ages 4+

GENRE: historical fiction picture book

OPENING and SYNOPSIS:

“Vasya Kandinsky spent his days learning to be a proper Russian boy. He studied books of math, science, and history.”

From the publisher:

“Vasya Kandinsky was a proper little boy: he studied math and history, he practiced the piano, he sat up straight and was perfectly polite. And when his family sent him to art classes, they expected him to paint pretty houses and flowers—like a proper artist.

But as Vasya opened his paint box and began mixing the reds, the yellows, the blues, he heard a strange sound—the swirling colors trilled like an orchestra tuning up for a symphony! And as he grew older, he continued to hear brilliant colors singing and see vibrant sounds dancing. But was Vasya brave enough to put aside his proper still lifes and portraits and paint . . .music?”

THEMES/TOPICS: biography, art

WHY I LIKE THIS BOOK: I seem to be on a Barb Rosenstock roll lately, but she’s one of my all-time favorite historical writers. In this book, she uses onomatopoeia and repeated refrains to keep the story zipping along. GrandPré has done a masterful job of recreating the artist’s world and art.

RESOURCES/ACTIVITIES:

• Random House has developed a CCSS-aligned teacher’s guide here.
• The book itself includes back matter including some of Kandinsky’s paintings and Web sites for further information.
• Do you have a noisy paint box? Can you paint a picture with no flowers or trees, but only intended only to make you feel?

You’ll find way more cool books at Susanna Leonard Hill’s “Perfect Picture Books.” Every Friday folks review a host of new books. Join us!