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This dreamy children's book celebrates Henri Rousseau, the French customs inspector and self-taught painter whose
Sleeping Gypsy is one of the most popular paintings in New York's Museum of Modern Art. A mild yet wonderfully self-confident man, Rousseau was something of a mystery to biographers, and still is. This book weaves bits of biographical information into a delightful tour of some of his most lovable works--his self-portrait on the banks of the Seine, in which the gigantically important artist dwarfs some tiny figures on a nearby path and looms over the Eiffel Tower, for one.
After an introduction in which readers learn that Rousseau liked to take long walks in the country on his Sundays off from work, the story develops into a tall tale. A coworker brings Rousseau a leaf from a plant in the botanical gardens, "where the most wonderful plants from far-off lands" grow. The artist then talks his way into the gardens late one afternoon, and, once inside, falls asleep. Dreaming, he meanders through jungles and fabulous settings--his paintings, of course. The dreamscapes will inspire any young fantasist: there is a Native American woman on a chaise in the jungle, surrounded by astonishing flora and fauna; monkeys swinging on vines; a wide-eyed tiger in a thunderstorm; and outsize blossoms that might have inspired William Steig's Zabajaba Jungle. In the end, Rousseau awakes, leaves the garden, and resolves to paint the wonderful scenes of his dreams forever after, much to the delight of real-life art lovers the world over. --Peggy Moorman
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6?In these two volumes in a new art series, the works of Chagall and Rousseau are presented in an unorthodox format, with somewhat mixed results. Both books provide insight into the individuals' lives and sources of inspiration. In Chagall, the undulating, multicolored text complements the artist's floating figures and dynamic shapes seen in facing full-page reproductions. Hopler asks readers questions about what Chagall might have been thinking when he composed these works and points out aspects of his life that clearly relate to the painting on that page. The text in Rousseau is more disjointed and less interesting and is set against dark, distracting, blown-up details from the the artist's paintings. The information on Rousseau is made even more confusing by the inclusion of a dream sequence in which the artist envisions himself lost in a jungle. Readers are told that the "Parisian moon smiled down on the happy customs official, because it knew that these pictures would one day make Henri Rousseau very famous...." In both volumes, the quality of the reproductions is very good. However, all of the details about the size, date, and location of the actual paintings is printed on the back cover rather than on a separate page. Libraries needing books on specific artists will want to consider Chagall as an additional purchase, but might want to pass on Rousseau.?Carol Schene, Taunton Public Schools, MA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
