The concept of the book reminds me a lot of the Newbery Medal award winning "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler", but instead of a focus on the story, the focus here is on the illustrations. In fact, not surprisingly in a book teaching the wonder of fine art, the illustrations are the star of the book. Rushyan Yen's illustrations are the heart of this book and some of the most beautiful I've ever seen! (*Full disclosure* Rushyan is a friend of mine, but that doesn't make this review any less sincere). Despite the fact that the art is clearly printed on a flat page, I'm currently looking at page 21, in which Sam is being drawn into the first painting, I would almost swear that I could reach down and feel the layered-texture of the painting. However, there are a few small blemishes, which prevent the book from being as beautiful as it could be. The first time I read through the book I immediately noticed that there were problems with pixelation in a few of the images, as if they had been significantly blown up beyond their intended resolution. When I asked Rushyan about it, she confirmed that the layout of the book had been revised and they had used the artwork she had supplied for smaller illustrations without her knowledge. These are only small problems though, and I really hope that with closer collaboration, the next book in the series will really shine and come to the attention of the Association for Library Service to Children when they are selected the Caldecott award for that year.
While the writing in the book which teaches about the art and artist is really well executed, I was not particularly impressed with the supposedly childish banter. It really came off as somewhat amateurish and in particular, somewhat beneath the children who are the targeted readers. Even the puzzle of the four stones seems a bit too easy and unbalanced with the descriptions of the art. Either Frankweiler described the art in too much detail to be understood by young children, or she crafted the story to be too simplistic for older children. Either way, there is a lack of balance, but I still don't doubt that children will be more accepting of these faults than I am, and with the stunning illustrations, demand to have the book read over and over again until they are up to the challenge of reading it on their own.
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