The Artist and Me

by Shane Peacock, Sophie Casson (Illustrator)

Overview

Vincent van Gogh is now known as an acclaimed, incomparable Post-Impressionist painter. But when he lived in Arles, France, in the 1880s, he was mocked for being different. Back then, van Gogh was an eccentric man with wild red hair who used clashing hues to paint unusual-looking people and strange starry skies. Children and adults alike called him names and laughed at him. Nobody bought his art. But he kept painting.

Inspired by these events, The Artist and Me is the fictional confession of one of van Gogh’s bullies — a young boy who adopted the popular attitude of adults around him. It’s not until the boy faces his victim alone that he realizes there is more than one way to see the world.

Artwork in the book uses vibrant color and texture to bring the laneways, cafés, and wheat fields of southern France to life while playing on scenes from van Gogh’s own work. The lyrical text carries the emotional weight of the subject and will leave readers with the understanding that everyone’s point of view is valuable.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781771471381
Publisher:	OWLKIDS BOOKS
Publication date:	04/12/2016
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD480L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Shane Peacock, biographer, journalist, and screenwriter, is also the author of six novels and three plays. He is the creator of the award-winning The Boy Sherlock Holmes series, has written for Orca’s Seven series, and has been nominated for numerous prizes including the Governor General’s Literary Award. He lives near Cobourg, Ontario, where he enjoys playing hockey with his kids. The Artist and Me is Shane’s first picture book.

Sophie Casson is a Montreal, Quebec–based illustrator who finds inspiration in Ukioy-e (a genre of Japanese woodblock printing), pre-war era children’s books, post-war posters, and stencil art. She has been nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Award, as well as been honored by Communication Arts, Applied Arts, and was runner-up for the Mr. Christie’s Book Award.

Editorial Reviews

02/01/2016
Fictional children written into biographies of classic artists are usually ardent fans of the artists’ work. Not here. Peacock’s narrator confesses that, as a child, he lived in Arles, knew van Gogh—and bullied him, along with the rest of the town. Adults will recognize the artist, who hopes to “tell the truth by painting pictures” as van Gogh, but to the narrator, he’s just a madman. “We called him horrible names. We threw things at him. It made us almost giddy.” Fortunately, van Gogh does not pay much attention to his tormentors. One day boy and artist meet in a famous wheat field, and the boy has a flash of insight into the power of van Gogh’s work. Only as an adult does he realize who his victim was. Casson’s poignant, vibrantly colored drawings are both faithful to the essence of van Gogh’s work and wholly her own. This is only peripherally an account of van Gogh’s last years; it’s really a story about deceptive appearances, and about how age brings repentance. Closing notes provide details about van Gogh’s life and work. Ages 5–9. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

A Junior Library Guild Selection
One of School Library Journal's Most Anticipated Titles for Spring 2016

"Would be an excellent read aloud in an art class to kick off a lesson about Vincent van Gogh or in a regular classroom during a morning meeting about bullies and treating others as you would like to be treated. Recommended."
—School Library Connection

"Sincere thanks must go to the authors, illustrators and their publishers for providing children with the opportunity to be inspired by these legendary individuals through such fine publications."
—Canadian Children's Book News, joint review

"An obvious complement to art curricula, this book could also reinforce anti-bullying discussions at home and in the classroom."
—The National Reading Campaign

"Evocative...a useful classroom resource."
—Canadian Review of Materials

"Low-key yet powerful...simple, resonant, superb."
—Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

"Delivers a meaningful message about individuality and tolerance."
—School Library Journal

"Poignant... a story about deceptive appearances."
—Publishers Weekly

"A real-life context for the effects of bullying, which will spark interest and encourage discussion."
—Booklist

"Beautifully and sparsely written, as well as vividly illustrated... makes its point quite eloquently."
–Julie Danielson, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

"Forthright and self-aware...about the battle between authenticity and conformity, integrity and capitulation—so much a part of growing up."
—The Horn Book

From the Publisher

03/01/2016
K-Gr 3—Vincent van Gogh is portrayed not merely as a groundbreaking artist but as the victim of ostracism in this intriguing treatment of bullying. An unidentified narrator records the story of "an ugly thing" he did as a child in France. In a scrapbook, he writes his memories of a crazy man with wild red hair who was on a mission to "tell the truth by painting pictures." The children and even the adults in the community of Arles mocked the poverty-stricken, misunderstood artist. Although as a boy the narrator laughed along with the crowd, he admits that van Gogh's paintings often made him wonder. Years later, while visiting a Paris museum with his grandson, the man delights in the creative genius of the artist he once knew long ago. He doesn't laugh at van Gogh anymore. Printed in a font resembling handwriting, the text helps to personalize the lesson learned by the remorseful storyteller. Casson's vibrant illustrations, which feature a Provençal palette of blues and yellows, draw readers into the French countryside, incorporating particular elements of van Gogh's own masterpieces. In one spread, for instance, Casson depicts the painter asleep on a narrow wooden bed in a room with cool blue walls: an echo of one of his most famous works, Bedroom in Arles. VERDICT This singular perspective on a troubling issue observed through the lens of art history delivers a meaningful message about individuality and tolerance.—Linda L. Walkins, Saint Joseph Preparatory High School, Boston

School Library Journal

★ 2016-03-02
A low-key yet powerful picture-book evocation of the final days of an eccentric artist who was both a victim of his own demons and the target of village bullies. The outcast artist is Vincent Van Gogh. The thoughtful, unnamed narrator of this impressive first-person fictive confessional is an older man who was one of the boys who brutalized Vincent: "In the beautiful countryside in Southern France near the town of Arles long ago, I used to do an ugly thing. / I tormented someone." In a way that's neither ham-fisted nor didactic, the young boy's inchoate fear of the Other in the person of the artist is balanced by his late-in-life regret and guilt. Peacock's wonderfully paced, poetic text evidences strong understanding of the power of the page turn and how it can masterfully scaffold the storyline. Inclusive backmatter reinforces the impression that Peacock drew on solid scholarship, including Stephen Naifeh and Gregory White Smith's well-received Van Gogh: The Life. The text is balanced with Casson's sensitive, hand-drawn images augmented with fluent Photoshop-layered colors (intended to evoke the silk-screen technique so admired in Van Gogh's time). The spreads are given an additional intimacy via a final overworking with pastel. A brilliant collaboration: simple, resonate, superb. (biographical note, author's note) (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews