Vincent Can't Sleep

October 9, 2017
Vincent Van Gogh’s persistent insomnia is the frame through which Rosenstock and GrandPré (the team behind The Noisy Paintbox, about Wassily Kandinsky) examine his growth as an artist. Rosenstock’s hushed, lyrical writing shapes a vision of a solitary, poorly understood artist struggling with inner demons (“Flashing brushstrokes capture country cottages at dusk, city cafés at midnight, canvas after canvas like radiant chapters in a book only Vincent can read”). There’s a moodiness and unease apparent in GrandPré’s artwork, too: when Van Gogh finishes Starry Night, “strange and restless, like Vincent himself,” its swirling lines bleed off of the canvas and into the surrounding darkened room. A thoughtful author’s note closes out this moving study of Van Gogh’s fraught efforts to translate his ideas to canvas. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio.

September 1, 2017

K-Gr 2-Long before Vincent van Gogh became a famous painter, he was young boy who couldn't sleep. He dreamt restlessly of escaping the confines of his life in boarding schools and bustling business centers, eagerly searching to find his passion and bring light to a harsh and unforgiving world. As a child, he wandered under the shimmering skies of his hometown, nestling in gardens and meadows and observing the intensity of the night sky. As a student, van Gogh was bored with his schoolwork and spent most of his time reading, writing, and dreaming alone. As an adult, he called himself an artist and set out on his own-teaching, writing, traveling-much to the dislike of his family. After he completes his masterpiece The Starry Night, his life's purpose is found and he can sleep peacefully at last. Captivating bursts of color are matched with rich vocabulary, capturing van Gogh's bold and unique interpretation of the world. The book's lyrical text paired with dazzling, expressive reiterations of van Gogh's most famous creations will enchant readers who long to discover their own artistic voice. VERDICT This versatile book is both an outstanding choice for reading aloud or for introducing art history concepts to young audiences.-Natalie Romano, Denver Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 15, 2017
Vincent van Gogh's lifelong insomnia leads to his masterwork The Starry Night.Starting as a toddler, wide awake in a cradle, "Vincent can't sleep." He sees "pink and yellow starlit shapes that twinkle on the ceiling"; the illustration uses those starlit reflections and the real stars outside to begin the visual theme of The Starry Night. A bit older, he runs outdoors at night, lies down in a field, and "snuggles under a blanket of sapphire sky." He's at peace right then, but the text is poetically clear that peace wasn't plentiful: he "runs into the soothing darkness and is brought back to the harsh light over and over again." He "draws, writes, and sighs alone"; he drifts, lost, creating "canvas after canvas like radiant chapters in a book only Vincent can read." He's hospitalized for an unnamed illness. He works hard to know: "Does darkness have a texture? / Thick? / Thin?...Is the night sky at rest? Or do eleven stars pulse like a beating heart?" Together, text and pictures balance his unsettled melancholy against beauty and harmony. Facially, van Gogh looks much like any GrandPre face; however, GrandPre's acrylic, pen, and watercolor spreads make marvelous use of dark blues with yellows, putty hues and pinks with swirls, and curving lines, all building to a tender, magnificent final spread. A soft, sad, lovely introduction to a masterpiece. (images of original art, author's note, sources) (Picture book/biography. 6-10)

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Starred review from October 15, 2017
Grades K-3 *Starred Review* Van Gogh's restless spirit and creative impulses are showcased in this expressive picture-book biography. As depicted here, even tiny Vincent in his cradle is fascinated by starlight shining into his room. As a child, Vincent draws on the bedroom walls as brother Theo sleeps nearby; a slightly older Vincent escapes his home and lies outside to get a better look at those stars. Following van Gogh through failed attempts at school and jobs, the text gently but truthfully presents many of the challenges of his adult life. His family worries that Vincent will never figure out what to do with himself, but painting finally gives him a direction. While the text does not conceal Vincent's challenges, it presents them in an age-appropriate manner. For instance, mental illness is not ignored, and several spreads show van Gogh working at a studio set up in a hospital. GrandPre's gorgeously rendered acrylic, pen, and watercolor illustrations pay homage to van Gogh's style without simply imitating it. She uses a color palette and design elements from van Gogh's works as thematic links throughout the book. The images and effective book design create the feeling of entering Vincent's consciousness as he seeks to express himself artistically. A beautiful exploration of van Gogh's influences and achievement.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)