Izzy Paints

After making an inaugural trip to an art museum with their yellow cat sidekick in tow, big-city denizen Izzy, a gray koala, is so inspired by the dazzling expressions on display--Miller (Tiny Kitty, Big City) tips a hat to Frida Kahlo, Henry Moore, and Wayne Thiebaud, among others--that they decide to become an artist, too. Fortunately, Izzy has both a closet crammed with art supplies and a snappy-looking artist's smock. Unfortunately, the creature is immediately overwhelmed by the blank canvas ("Izzy is stuck. Will Izzy give up?"). But the sun shining through the window--the very same "electric yellow" that's Izzy's favorite color--sparks the budding artist's creativity, and what begins as a single yellow scribble is soon amplified by "jade drips, indigo dots, magenta splashes, and teal swirls" that splatter across the spread ("Izzy feels free. Izzy's heart sings") before being proudly shared as a finished work. Rhythmic, declarative sentences and stripped-down characterizations and settings let the creative process and its rewards shine--and, via the artist's spattering, splattering hues, bring new meaning to the term "flying colors." Ages 4-8. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Nov.)

The charmingly breezy art depicts Izzy and other figures in thick marker-like lines, giving them a contrasting simplicity to both the complexity of the detailed city in its saturated '70s colors and the paint-like strokes and splatters of Izzy's artwork. Izzy's final piece... underscores the fun of the creative process... and the wry humor playing between text and art is a bonus. — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)