On Story Bent

While Katie and the Mona Lisa is hard to beat, this is my current personal favorite in the series. And it kept the attention of my friend, too. The selected works and accompanying impressionistic illustrations by Mayhew are just delightful. Evocative and inspiring... it's like you can almost feel and smell all the fresh air + the sweet floral scents. Definitely a top favorite and one I look forward to revisiting. (It may also be providing some garden inspiration. ;)) Highly recommend! Works covered include: In the Woods at Giverny: Blanche Hoschede at her easel with Suzanne Hoschede reading, 1887 by Claude Monet Bathers at La Grenouillere, 1869 by Monet The Rue Montorgueil, Paris, Celebration of June 30, 1878 by Monet Path through the Poppies, Ile Saint-Martin, Vetheuil, 1880  by Monet Waterlily Pond, 1899 by Monet

Didn't realize till recently that this was actually the very first ever Katie book! It has a good selection of paintings (and I especially love the one from Renoir). Works covered include: The Hay Wain by John Constable Madame Moitessier by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres The Umbrellas by Pierre-Auguste Renoir Surprised! by Henri Rousseau Dynamic Suprematism by Kazamir Malevich As aforementioned, studying  The Umbrellas was really fun -- discussing how he used the colors themselves to evoke the feeling of rain, etc. I do like the Katie books for their immersive nature -- they're absolutely excellent for making the art come alive and connecting with young readers. That said, this one also led to a fruitful discussion about how we should indeed look with our eyes and obey Do Not Touch signs, and some of the reasons for those signs (finger oils, etc.); and also the difference between our world and the magic of Katie's world. ;) It led, too, to some good discussion on appropriate...

One of the most well written and engaging in the entire series. There is a bit of overtly intentional mess creation in it, but (as always) Katie is careful to go back over her tracks and make sure everything is scrupulously put right, so I'm comfortable with how it all works out in the end. There are always artistic renderings of lots of other famous pieces on each page, but following is a list of the works specifically explored: Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh Breton Girls Dancing by Paul Gauguin Apples and Oranges by Paul Cezanne Tahitian Pastorals by Paul Gauguin  As aforementioned, this is one of the liveliest Katie books and we ended up really enjoying it and getting entirely invested in the story. It's tremendously vivid and colorful, too! In the recommendation line up, would probably place it just after  Katie and the Mona Lisa and Katie and the Starry Sky. (Note: I just remembered that one of the imitation paintings on page 5 does show a nude swimmer from the back, but ...