I always approach a new Wiesner book with huge expectations. I mean, this is the three-time Caldecott medalist! I guarantee this will not disappoint, no matter how high your expectations are.
Arthur is quite a painter. He does portraits of lizards as they pose for him. Max wants to learn and Arthur is willing to teach him. The first step is Max figuring out what to paint. Arthur grandly suggests that Max could paint him. So Max does exactly that, with deep blue and bright yellow, he paints Arthur right in the face. Arthur gets cross and bursts free of his paint-filled skin only to find that the colors have stayed and now his skin is chalk and pastels. When a blowing fan won’t fix it, Arthur takes a drink of water to feel better. It erases his color, leaving just a line drawing behind that Max quickly unravels. Now it is up to Max to figure out how to get Arthur back.
Wiesner’s only text in this picture book is Arthur and Max’s dialogue with each other. The illustrations really tell the story. Wiesner has a great sense of comic timing from the first spurt of paint onto Arthur all the way through to Max rebuilding him in a very simplistic style. The moments are ones that will have young readers and listeners laughing out loud. As they are enjoying the story, they are being taught about the way that different media react, work and appear. It is a very skillful and clever introduction to art styles and formats.
Exceptionally, the book is also about creating art yourself. It is about a painter with his own distinct style working with a younger artist. It is about restraint meeting freedom. About creativity and letting loose and what happens when you do. It is a book that has many layers, several of them from paint.
A colorful, dynamic picture book that embodies what it is also conveying. This picture book needs to get in the hands of your art teachers, children who enjoy art, and anyone looking for a good laugh. Appropriate for ages 4-6.
Reviewed from copy received from Clarion Books.
Waking Brain Cells 