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VINCENT PAINTS HIS HOUSE

Name: VINCENT PAINTS HIS HOUSE
Author: Tedd Arnold
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3210-3

by Tedd Arnold ; illustrated by Tedd Arnold ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 15, 2015

So very Van Gogh and so very satisfying! (Picture book. 3-8)

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The conceit at the center of this celebration of art and color? Tell a pleasingly repetitive tale featuring the Dutch post-impressionist Vincent Van Gogh without ever mentioning his full name.

The eponymous Vincent (big-headed, bug-eyed, and ginger-bearded) sets out to paint the exterior of a charming little stucco house reminiscent of the iconic The Yellow House in Arles. Juggling a box of paint tubes, artist Vincent loads up his palette with a variety of saturated colors. Momentarily daunted by choice, he thinks, “White is nice,” and selects four tubes of white paint (snow, ivory, titanium, cream) to begin. But then: “Stop!” A sweet succession of tiny resident art critics—a spider, a bird, a mouse, a termite, a caterpillar, and a ladybug—all offer their own contributions to the project. Along with each color callout, a section of the painter’s palette is shown with a range of hues laid out; the paint tubes’ color labels are prominently displayed. By book’s end, that once-drab house is now painted in a quiet riot of broken color strokes and cozily situated under a swirling night sky. Arnold’s computer-generated art finesses the pigments and represents the textural effects of this great painter’s hand. Savvy parents and teachers will truly enjoy sharing this, both as an inspiration for art projects and as a low-key, kid-friendly introduction to this accessible painter.

So very Van Gogh and so very satisfying! (Picture book. 3-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-8234-3210-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Holiday House

Review Posted Online: May 5, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
NOODLEHEADS TAKE IT EASY
by Tedd Arnold , Martha Hamilton & Mitch Weiss ; illustrated by Tedd Arnold

- BOOK REVIEW
FLY GUY & FLY GIRL
by Tedd Arnold ; illustrated by Tedd Arnold

- BOOK REVIEW
NOODLEHEADS DO THE IMPOSSIBLE
by Tedd Arnold & Martha Hamilton & Mitch Weiss ; illustrated by Tedd Arnold

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CHICKA CHICKA HO HO HO

From the Chicka Chicka Book series

by William Boniface ; illustrated by Julien Chung ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2024

A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree.

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A Christmas edition of the beloved alphabet book.

The story starts off nearly identically to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989), written by John Archambault and the late Bill Martin Jr, with the letters A, B, and C deciding to meet in the branches of a tree. This time, they’re attempting to scale a Christmas tree, not a coconut tree, and the letters are strung together like garland. A, B, and C are joined by the other letters, and of course they all “slip, slop, topple, plop!” right down the tree. At the bottom, they discover an assortment of gifts, all in a variety of shapes. As a team, the letters and presents organize themselves to get back up on the Christmas tree and get a star to the top. Holiday iterations of favorite tales often fall flat, but this take succeeds. The gifts are an easy way to reinforce another preschool concept—shapes—and the text uses just enough of the original to be familiar. The rhyming works, sticking to the cadence of the source material. The illustrations pay homage to the late Lois Ehlert’s, featuring the same bold block letters, though they lack some of the whimsy and personality of the original. Otherwise, everything is similarly brightly colored and simply drawn. Those familiar with the classic will be drawn to this one, but newcomers can enjoy it on its own.

A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024

ISBN: 9781665954761

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)