If da Vinci Painted a Dinosaur

September 15, 2018
Following up If Picasso Painted a Snowman (2017), introductions to 19 more painters and their best-known styles.In line with the previous gallery, the Newbolds dispatch a shiny-eyed hamster docent to squire young viewers past a set of full-page or larger scenes that imitate famous, or at least representative, paintings--with prehistoric elements, mostly dinosaurs, in each. The virtual museum tour begins with a Vitruvian Microraptor à la Leonardo and ends with a finely rendered Dino Lisa (a gowned maiasaura, according to the key at the end, but looking more than a little like Jar Jar Binks). In between he dishes up Dégas-style ballet dancers, plesiosaurs surfing a version of Hokusai's Great Wave off Kanagawa, a can of Andy Warhol's Dino Noodle Soup, Mark Rothko color fields declared to represent layers of prehistoric rocks, and more. Other artists include Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Qi Baishi, Loïs Mailou Jones, Harrison Begay, and Marguerite Zorach. The accompanying captions incline toward wordplay: "Cassius Coolidge crates a Cretaceous card game"; "BOOM! CRASH! CRUNK! Here comes a dinosaur by Edvard Munch!" Like the art, some dinos are actual ones, others fanciful. Leonardo is an outlier in this 18th- to 20th-century company (Begay alone lived into the 21st), but the lineup is at least as varied in school or style as the previous one and more diverse of sex, race, and national background than both its predecessor and many others of its ilk. Would-be Leonardos will find both an invitingly blank page to fill at the end and elementary prompts from the versatile illustrator.Art history with a little smile. (thumbnail biographies) (Informational picture book. 5-9)

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October 15, 2018
In the second of a playful, conceptual series (following If Picasso Painted a Snowman), the Newbolds, a married team, reimagine classic works of art with a prehistoric twist. A friendly hamster draws with a purple crayon: “If Leonardo Da Vinci drew a dinosaur, it might look like...” The result is a mash-up of da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man and a pterodactyl. Plesiosaurs surf Katsushika Hokusai’s wave, and in Edvard Munch’s iconic painting, the figure on the bridge has a real reason to scream. The image replications capture each artist’s styles and the works’ recognizable features. While the hamster, who offers casual commentary on the art, may distract with its incongruous art style, the creators deliver a memorable introduction to famed works of art. Ages 6–10.

November 1, 2018

PreS-Gr 3-What would it be like for dinosaurs to show up in some of the world's most famous works of art? Readers will love naming their favorite dinosaurs and artists in this brightly illustrated, captivating follow-up to If Picasso Painted a Snowman by the same author/illustrator team. A stegosaurus and a triceratops munch on grass in Grandma Moses's garden, a pack of plesiosauri surf on Katsushika Hokusai's iconic wave, and bright dinosaur shapes are scattered among Henri Matisse's iconic colorful paper cutouts. The final masterpiece is the Dino Lisa: a maiasaura disguised as Leonardo da Vinci's most recognizable work. At the end of the story, readers are asked how they would draw a dinosaur, and are given a canvas to create their own work of art. Not only are the illustrations whimsical and attention-grabbing for younger readers, an array of artistic styles and media are represented, featuring artists from many different historical periods and cultures. Dinosaur types are not named in words until the end of the book, sparking a dialogue between children and adults about which dinosaurs they see. A list of artists and their short biographies are included in the back of the book, as well as some advice for readers who hope to be artists when they grow up. VERDICT An obvious choice for young art enthusiasts, dinosaur lovers, and aspiring artists.-Natalie Romano, Denver Public Library

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2018
Grades 1-4 This delightful sequel to If Picasso Painted a Snowman (2017) follows the same successful format. Nineteen reimagined images present slightly altered versions of iconic paintings by famous artists, substituting dinosaurs as subjects. Readers are treated to a microraptor standing in for the Mona Lisa, a velociraptor as Frida Kahlo, and a looming giganotosaurus prompting Edvard Munch's The Scream. The illustrations don't merely replace original elements, such as offering gamboling triceratops and stegosauruses as paper cutouts by Henri Matisse. They also strive to capture the overall emotion of each original, whether it's plesiosaurus frolicking in Katsushika Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa or pteranodons and apatosauruses peacefully grazing in one of Grandma Moses' bucolic countrysides. Brief, one-paragraph biographies introduce each artist, and a key identifies dinosaur species. Whether used as a teaching tool to introduce major artists and masterpieces, to kick off art projects, or displayed as a browsing magnet for dinosaur enthusiasts, this picture book will encourage creativity, prompt giggling, and hopefully spark gleeful recognition.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)