Van Gogh and the Sunflowers

This is a wonderful series and I love this wonderfully illustrated story of Van Gogh's time in Arles, France. The story tells of him moving in to the "yellow house" and being inspired by the colors in southern France. There are many easily recognizable works by Van Gogh in this story. But it also talks about how the town's people felt that Vincent and his paintings didn't fit in with their town. At one point in the story, the kids throw rocks at Vincent and his friend Camille. Camille's father does explain to Camille that "people often laugh at things that are different, but I've got a feeling that one day they will learn to love Vincent's paintings." Eventually Vincent is forced to leave the town but he gives Camille one of his paintings of the sunflowers. *** My caution does not come from the story itself but a book note that is printed on the last page of the story (not even on a book jacket that you can take off and put away). It explains how Vincent later becomes depressed and cuts off one of his ears. It also explains that even after seeking the help of a doctor that he commits suicide by shooting himself with a pistol. This is a tough fact for me to reconcile sharing with the age group that this book is intended for. You of course can choose not to read it to your child (or children if sharing with a class), however any curious early reader is sure to take notice of this information since it is simply printed on the last illustrated page of the story. Just be prepared and have an explanation for this information if you don't have the chance to censor the last page of the book.

My 7 year old granddaughter is really into artists. She had the Picasso book at school and was telling me about it. Her favorite artist (mine too) is Van Gogh. She LOVES this book. Its a gret starter book on him...my only wish was that it was a little longer and covered more of his works.

The book is beautifully presented and is a nice way to introduce children to one of art old masters.

I can't say enough good about this series. It is a creative way to introduce kids to these artists. They are written to be kids stories and entertain while throwing in some information about who the artist is, to show the artists' general style and introduce some specific works by the artist. My daughter is 5. She soaks this stuff in. I think she would have been able to be as receptive to the stories at age 4 and maybe just earlier than that but it would have been pushing the envelope. I suspect she will enjoy the stories for another couple years.It has lead us to google some of the actual artists' works. My daughter now wants to find some museums that have some of the pieces that are addressed in the books.

My five and a half year old twins loved this story and ALL of Anholt's artists books for children. We just came back from a trip to Paris, and what better prepping for that trip's artistic components, than the series of Anholt's childrens' books! BRAVO! (But, beware, I made the mistake of reading the author's notes on the back jacket flap aloud after we'd finished the story, about how VG had cut off his ear and then shot himself, and my kids had bad dreams that night! Too much "ununderstandable stuff" for my guys at least!)It's great how copies of some of the real paintings are included in the books, so the kids can look for those when we go to the museums!