The Iridescence of Birds: A Book about Henri Matisse

Gr 1-4—This richly textured picture book looks at Henri Matisse's inspiration as a young boy, beginning with a spread depicting the gray, clammy French village in which he grew up. But while it is cold and damp outside, Matisse's mother fills the interior of their home with light through pattern and color. She paints natural scenes on plates, allows her son to mix and experiment with paint, and covers every possible surface with color. They are surrounded by their art. This look at Matisse's creativity and artistic process is strong and unusual for several reasons. Maclachlan concentrates on Matisse's mother and her influence on his eventual career. Her poetic text doesn't give the specific details of the man's life, but readers come away with a real sense of his art. Hooper's art, a combination of relief printmaking and digital techniques, expands readers' understanding of the text. They have strong solid lines, contrasting with the wide range of pastel colors. Hooper isn't derivative of Matisse's style but rather takes his tools and creates something new. On one spread, the background features a piece of Matisse's art; careful viewers will notice the artist in the foreground, growing from a boy into a man. The book gives off a creative energy that readers of all ages will find fulfilling. The simplicity of the text makes this book appropriate to use as a springboard to Matisse's work for even the very young. A poetic look at creativity, both natural and nurtured.—Susan E. Murray, formerly at Glendale Public Library, AZ

In one long, singing sentence (and a briefer second one that's no less lyrical), MacLachlan (Snowflakes Fall) takes what's known of Matisse's upbringing and shows how naturally it leads into a life as an artist. "If you were a boy named Henri Matisse who lived/ in a dreary town in Northern France where the skies were gray," she starts, as Hooper (Here Come the Girl Scouts!) draws a bundled-up boy crossing a village square in the wintry dusk. As MacLachlan shows how Matisse's mother brought color into her son's life, Hooper's woodcutlike images recall Matisse's organic forms and brilliant hues while preserving her own style. Small Henri feeds pigeons, "Watching... their colors that changed with the light... That your mother called iridescence." On the next page, the boy stands opposite the man Matisse, who holds a palette. "Would it be a surprise that you became/ A fine painter who painted/ Light/ and Movement/ And the iridescence of birds?" It's a sumptuous meditation on the way artists see and feel, one that possesses an iridescence of its own. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content LLC. Illustrator's agent: Marlena Agency. (Oct.)

"A spacious and beautiful book, as much a lesson for adults on visual enrichment and nurturing a creative spirit as an introductory biography for children." —The Horn Book

"*Glorious . . . Effective page turns and the accretion of detail in both text and illustration take readers on a journey." —Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

"*The book gives off a creative energy that readers of all ages will find fulfilling . . . A poetic look at creativity, both natural and nurtured." —School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW

"*In two long, lyrical sentences, Patricia MacLachlan wonders about the early years of Henri Matisse . . . an essential, spirited picture book." —Booklist, STARRED REVIEW

"*It's a sumptuous meditation on the way artists see and feel, one that possesses an iridescence of its own." —Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW