From School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 3-This picture book introduces children to a well-known painting. A young French girl visits the park each day with her nursemaid. While playing, she meets a woman who owns a puppy, and Nipper and Suzette become fast friends. The story describes their amusing encounters. The child is surprised to learn that the dog's owner is Mary Cassatt, whom her uncle, Edgar Degas, has commissioned to paint her portrait, resulting in Little Girl in a Blue Armchair, now hanging in the National Gallery of Art. This fictionalized tale is enjoyable for its serene depiction of Parisian life around 1870. Watercolor illustrations evoke the impressionist style and blend in with Cassatt's own work. On one of the last pages, the author encourages discussion by asking readers to consider why Suzette appears bored in the masterpiece.-Ilene Abramson, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
Little Suzette and her nursemaid enjoy daily walks in the handsome park near their home. Often, they see a tall, elegant lady strolling in the park with her tiny puppy. Then, a comical incident transforms Suzette and the puppy into friends. The time and place of this gentle story is Paris in the 1870s, when many fine artists were creating the exciting approach to painting called Impressionism. As it happens, little Suzette's Uncle Edgar is one of those artists. He is the famous Edgar Degas. One day, Uncle Edgar sends an artist to paint Suzette's picture. Imagine Suzette's surprise, when the artist turns out to be the tall lady from the park! And imagine Suzette's delight when the little puppy comes with her! The result of this enchanting meeting lives on to this day in an art masterpiece. For the woman was the major American artist, Mary Cassatt. Her painting of Suzette and the little dog, known as "The Little Girl in the Blue Armchair," now hangs in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington, D.C. Among this book's many beautiful full-color illustrations is a reproduction of the story's painting. (Ages 4-8)
Library of Congress
Having met a tall lady and her captivating little dog in a park in Paris, Suzette is later delighted when the lady comes to paint her portrait and brings the dog with her.
