The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau (Incredible Lives for Young Readers)

by Michelle Markel (Author) Amanda Hall (Illustrator)

Henri Rousseau wanted to be an artist. But he had no formal training. Instead, he taught himself to paint. He painted until the jungles and animals and distant lands in his head came alive on the space of his canvases.

Henri Rousseau endured the harsh critics of his day and created the brilliant paintings that now hang in museums around the world. Michelle Markel's vivid text, complemented by the vibrant illustrations of Amanda Hall, artfully introduces young readers to the beloved painter and encourages all readers to persevere despite all odds. 

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Kirkus

The bright watercolor-and-acrylic paintings have an impressive vitality and wonderfully channel Rosseau's fantastic motifs and his characteristic use of flattened shapes and perspectives.

ALA/Booklist

Starred Review
The career of artist Henri Rousseau gets a wonderfully child-friendly treatment in a book that captures both his personality and the essence of his pictures.

None

This successful tribute makes Rousseau -- an artist so visionary that he was sometimes “startled by what he paints” -- accessible, and inspirational, to a young audience. 

None

Markel's informative text conveys self-taught modern artist Henri Rousseau's groundbreaking flat perspective, inspiration by faraway lands, and determined personality, as well as interesting details such as his place in a circle of Modernist artists and writers. 

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

"Henri Rousseau wants to be an artist. Not a single person has ever told him he is talented. He's a toll collector. He's forty years old. But he buys some canvas, paint, and brushes, and starts painting anyway." Markel's account of Rousseau's humility and amateur passion for art strikes just the right tone--it's jaunty, confiding, and affectionate. Hall's (Tales from India) acrylic and watercolor paintings celebrate Rousseau's style without parodying it or dumbing it down. She alternates between spreads of the painter at work in the wild jungles of his own imagination--flying through the air in excitement as he discovers images that inspire him--and paintings of the modest surroundings in which he lives and the dour critics who sit in judgment of him. Markel (Tyrannosaurus Math) describes Rousseau's poverty, generosity, freedom of spirit, and--finally--the recognition he achieves. It's a story about a painter who isn't driven by an enormous ego or a Promethean will but the simple love of color and form in nature--a love that Hall excels at expressing. Ages 5-9. Agent: Anna Olswanger, Liza Dawson Associates. (Aug.)

Copyright 2012 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

Starred Review

PreS-Gr 3--Drawing on the naive techniques found in the paintings of the 19th-century French toll collector, Hall depicts Rousseau's life while introducing his style and subject matter in her fanciful watercolor and acrylic scenes. Markel's well-chosen episodes begin with the purchase of his first paints and brushes-at age 40. Compact sentences convey this self-taught artist's rocky journey, leaving room for Hall's interpretation. One dynamic composition propels Rousseau, clad in black, toward readers; one eye is enlarged behind a magnifying glass as he studies and scatters colorful postcards, catalogs, and paintings from the Louvre. Humor is conveyed even when his art is being rejected by the Salon experts. As the tiny man wheels his cart of canvases up to imposing, bewhiskered figures in tuxedos, close inspection reveals that some are monkeys. An author's note highlights Rousseau's reaction to the exotic plants at the Jardin des Plantes: ."..it's as though he enters into a dream. It's like he is someone else completely." Hall's portrait accompanying that idea in the narrative is formed from greenery, flowers, and wheat-part Rousseau, part Arcimboldo. The 1889 International Exhibition also opened the artist's world; afterward, his jungle canvases came to life, and a tiger crawled into his studio. Ultimately, he was feted by luminaries identified in the illustrator's note. This is not only a visually exciting introduction to a well-known artist, but also an uplifting model of passion and perseverance. Pair it with Doris Kutschbach's Henri Rousseau's Jungle Book (Prestel, 2005) for a slightly different perspective.--Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Michelle Markel
Michelle Markel writes informative, enjoyable children's books at her home in Los Angeles, California. She's the author of Tyrannosaurus Math (a CCBC Choices Reading List selection), The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau (a PEN/Steven Kroll Award winner and a Parents' Choice Gold Award winner), and Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909 (a Jane Addams Children's Book Award winner, a Bank Street College of Education Flora Stieglitz Straus Award winner, and an NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor book). Visit her at michellemarkel.com.

Barbara McClintock has written and/or illustrated over forty books for children, including her highly acclaimed Adèle and Simon series. Her books have received five New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book awards, three ALA Notable Children's Book citations, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor, and two Golden Kite honors, as well as many other accolades, best book selections, and starred reviews. A self-taught artist, McClintock discovered the work of Randolph Caldecott when she was in her early twenties, and he became a mentor, inspiration, and kindred spirit to her. McClintock lives in Windham, Connecticut, with her partner, the illustrator David A. Johnson, and their four demonstrative cats. You can find her online at barbaramcclintockbooks.com.
Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9780802853646
Lexile Measure
800
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
Publication date
June 11, 2012
Series
Incredible Lives for Young Readers
BISAC categories
JNF007010 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | Art
JNF006040 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Art | History
JNF006050 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Art | Painting
Library of Congress categories
France
Painters
Rousseau, Henri
Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens
Recommended 2013 - 2013
Parents Choice Awards (Spring) (2008-Up)
Gold Medal Winner 2013 - 2013
Literary Award
Winner 2013 - 2013
Red Clover Award
Nominee 2014 - 2014

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