Isabella

December 21, 2018

PreS-K-Masterpieces of Western art are introduced to young children via the adventures of Isabella, a young girl who likes nothing better than to paint and draw in the comfort of her own home. Her mother and father attempt to engage her in a variety of activities, from horseback riding to ballet, and each suggestion conjures up a vision inspired by the work of a famous artist. Readers see echoes of Jacques-Louis David's Napoleon Crossing the Alps, Mary Cassatt's The Boating Party, and Edward Hopper's Nighthawks paintings, with Isabella and her family engaged in each scene, such as eating ice cream at the counter of a nighttime café similar to the one in the Hopper painting. Different fonts are used for key words to help readers make text-to-image connections. Back material includes reproductions of the original artworks: 10 paintings by American and European masters and one sculpture. The illustrations are bright and engaging, with styles changing on each spread to evoke art styles from pointillism to expressionism. Small children will enjoy spotting the mouse on each page and many children will remember the spunky purple-haired Isabella from her previous adventures. Most children will not understand the connections between the famous artwork and the illustrations without guidance. VERDICT This is a good choice for libraries interested in expanding art themes for preschool and kindergarten age children.-Suzanne LaPierre, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

January 15, 2019
A child can't decide how to spend her day but takes inspiration from her love of art.Isabella is content to spend her day off from school at home with her stuffed toy mouse, but her parents try to find alternate activities. Their discussion about possible places to visit and things to do is embedded with fine-art references that are also depicted and referenced in the illustrations. When Isabella's mother asks, "[H]ow about the park?" Isabella responds, "Let me THINK about it," and digital art depicts her as a statue in a pose similar to Rodin's The Thinker that's being carved by her now-anthropomorphized, sentient toy. Subsequent spreads reveal 10 other references to fine art, all but one of which are by white men. Mary Cassatt's The Boating Party is the exception, in a spread depicting Isabella and her parents in a rowboat as she says, "A BOAT PARTY would be fun....But it's awfully chilly today." The exclusivity is enough to make readers "SCREAM" like Munch's subject in another painting referenced in the book. At the end, Isabella invites her parents to see a museum of her own making, and they admire pictures on her bedroom wall inspired by the referenced art pieces, which are then identified in backmatter.Extraordinarily exclusive. (Picture book. 3-6)

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October 15, 2018
Preschool-G Purple-haired, artistic Isabella is not sure what to do on her day off school. Mom and Dad suggest an afternoon at the park, horseback riding, a boat party, a trip to the ballet, ice cream, and shopping for soup, but nothing quite appeals. Finally it's revealed that Isabella has been making drawings that reflect her family discussions, and that her real desire is to open her own art museum. Each spread depicts a famous sculpture or painting (in most, Isabella and her family have been incorporated into the art), with succinct text that offers clues to the work. For example, the text "We could HOP out for some ice cream. . . . But maybe we should save that for another NIGHT," accompanies a recreation of Edward Hopper's Nighthawks. Litwin's mixed-media illustrations accurately reproduce the content and style of the 11 included artworks, with relevant story details inserted into each. Appended with notes identifying the original works, this is likely to spur creativity among budding artists.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)