Review by Booklist Review
Ages 4-7. In his thirteenth book, Lionni offers a fable about art and love and the role of the imagination in making beauty out of squalor. One of Lionni's familiar-looking mice, Matthew, lives in the corner of a dusty, junk-strewn attic. Matthew's parents hope that perhaps he'll save the family by becoming a doctor. But when Matthew visits an art gallery, he is entranced. "The world is here," he thinks. He is equally entranced by Nicolleta, a mouse who is also soaking up culture. That night Matthew dreams about walking hand in hand through "playful patches of color." But when he awakens, he's back in his wretched attic. His inspiration stays with him, however, and he goes on to paint great things and marry Nicoletta. Like Gulley Jimson in Joyce Cary's The Horse's Mouth, who finds beauty in the garbage-lined banks of the Thames, Matthew rises above his surroundings; his ability to transform clutter into art will strike an inspirational note even in young children. They will also be captivated by the artwork itself. Lionni again uses his familiar collage and color techniques, but what colors! Because his subject is, in part, painting, he employs bright, rich hues that stand out smartly against the white backgrounds. There's a mini-art lesson here, too, as readers are exposed to various styles of painting in the museum pictures (albeit all have mice as their subjects). Though some might protest that Matthew's dream comes true all too easily, children are instinctively more attuned to the adage, "if you will it, it is not a dream. ~--Ilene Cooper
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
On a visit to a museum, a mouse discovers his artistic vocation; PW's boxed review said, ``In a classic `less is more' mode, the text is direct yet abundantly meaningful.'' Ages 3-7. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-- A classy, classic Lionni mouse fable with themes like those in Frederick (1967) or Geraldine, the Music Mouse (1979, both Pantheon). Here, too, the joy, exuberance, and service of an artist's calling are made clear to the very young. A poor mouse couple lives in a dusty attic where they have great hopes for their only child. When they ask Matthew what he wants to be, however, he is uncertain--until the day his class goes on a field trip to the art museum. The paintings make a profound impression on him, and they clarify his vocation; he is to be an artist. In one memorable turn of a page readers see just what the tiny dreamer has seen, as Matthew's imagination transforms the dreary junk of his attic corner into a Picasso-like work of art. Both the torn paper collages and the reproductions of museum `` mouse terpieces'' in various painting styles invite children to look and look again. A strong, fine book by an illustrator who, like Matthew, paints canvases ``filled with the shapes and colors of joy.'' --Anna Biagioni Hart, Sherwood Regional Library, Alexandria, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Matthew, a winsome rodent, visits a museum and then dreams that he and the enchanting little mouse he met there are walking in an enormous painting full of shifting color. When he awakens, his destiny is manifest - he must become a painter. Lionni's combination of collage and paint creates inviting, brilliant pages. From HORN BOOK 1991, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A classic Lionni mouse (torn paper, pink ears) visits a museum, dreams about entering the marvelous, varied paintings, and realizes that his destiny is to be an artist. The originality here is in the illustrations, where Lionni deliciously conveys the flavor of several other artists' styles (""One [painting] looked like crusts of pastry, but when he looked more carefully, a mouse emerged"") without compromising the unity of his own. An attractive reiteration of an important theme. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
