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The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art, by Bard Rosenstock, illustrated by Mary GrandPre, 2014, New York, NY: Knopf Books for Young Readers. 40 pages. ISBN: 978-0307978486.
Age/Interest Level: 5-7 years
Lexile Level: AD630L
Awards: Caldecott Honor (2015)
Reader Annotation: Vasya Kandinsky was like most other kids. Then he opened a paint box and began to hear the symphony of colors and painted with music.
Plot Summary: Vasya Kandinsky was an abstract artist, but before that he was a boy with a paint box. He discovered that when he mixed the colors together he could actually hear music. Red alone might not be much, but when swirled with blue it could produce a symphony of sound. This biographical work looks at his exploration of sound and sight, the music of the paint conducting his fingers as he created some of the most interesting works of art.
Critical Evaluation: This is a great look at how people can view the world differently. Kandinsky had a very specific view on art and strived to express himself. The illustrations here are a great representation of that, with the rich use of acrylic and paper collage that become slightly more manic and abstract as the book continues. The illustrations seem to pop and come alive as the text delves more and more into what Kandinsky was seeing and hearing. The text is also rich, pulling out words which might not be traditional in a picture book, but which are full of power when said aloud, such as saffron, cobalt, and pistachio. This is a book best read out loud, and it does quite read like music.
Why Included: This is a fantastic Caldecott Honor work, exhibiting a rare condition that a very talented and famous artist had. It works as a biographical sketch as well as a look at what it means to perceive things differently.
Age/Interest Level: 5-7 years
Lexile Level: AD630L
Awards: Caldecott Honor (2015)
Reader Annotation: Vasya Kandinsky was like most other kids. Then he opened a paint box and began to hear the symphony of colors and painted with music.
Plot Summary: Vasya Kandinsky was an abstract artist, but before that he was a boy with a paint box. He discovered that when he mixed the colors together he could actually hear music. Red alone might not be much, but when swirled with blue it could produce a symphony of sound. This biographical work looks at his exploration of sound and sight, the music of the paint conducting his fingers as he created some of the most interesting works of art.
Critical Evaluation: This is a great look at how people can view the world differently. Kandinsky had a very specific view on art and strived to express himself. The illustrations here are a great representation of that, with the rich use of acrylic and paper collage that become slightly more manic and abstract as the book continues. The illustrations seem to pop and come alive as the text delves more and more into what Kandinsky was seeing and hearing. The text is also rich, pulling out words which might not be traditional in a picture book, but which are full of power when said aloud, such as saffron, cobalt, and pistachio. This is a book best read out loud, and it does quite read like music.
Why Included: This is a fantastic Caldecott Honor work, exhibiting a rare condition that a very talented and famous artist had. It works as a biographical sketch as well as a look at what it means to perceive things differently.