Colorful Dreamer : the Story of Artist Henri Matisse by Majorie Blain Parker. 2012

He Dreamed in Colors

Inspiration Book:

Colorful dreamer : the story of artist Henri Matisse by Parker, Marjorie Blain  eBook— Dial Books For Young Readers, 2012--759.4; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.5 Colorful illustrations and text describe how Henri Matisse grew up to be a famous painter. 

Rationale: I have frequently mentioned my favorite art teacher who also loves books and with whom I have a close teaching relationship. It just recently occurred to me that there is something different about her and the other art teachers I’ve worked with in the past. My favorite is full-time in one building; all the others have had split building assignments. That meant we didn’t have the same amount of available time to cultivate a working professional relationship. If I have a split assignment art teacher in the future, I will make sure to try to build that relationship during the summer or on weekends or even over a quick meal after school. I’m the one that needs to make the extra effort.

I do need to tell you about a year long reading motivation program (I develop a new program each year) the art teacher and I did. Briefly, students maintain a reading record and set reading goals. If they reach their monthly goal (the goals are individual goals), they are invited to a reading party. One year I had a parent who was very artistic and an art teacher (different from the one mentioned above) who loved books and used books. The three of us colaborated on the parties. The parent maintained the reading record tally and made personal invitations for each student--some months it was several hundred, and the art teacher developed a craft or art project that could be completed in forty-five minutes that the students made during the party. In December she designed an ornament for each grade that represented a different country. Oh, we also had an easy snack that another parent was in charge of. This was also the year the art teacher and the fifth and sixth graders decorated a school bus like the magic school bus and it sat outside the school building as a year long advertisement for reading. 

Classroom Bookshelf, which I often reference, and have again below, has several great ideas to develop for this Quick Pick book. These are a few I have used: 1) Provide images of Matisse’s work for small groups of students to study and organize traits such as colors, shapes, and content. 2) Have students choose one of Matisse’s works to write or draw a response. 3) Compare several biographies of Matisse found in the bibliography. 4) Make a timeline of Matisse’s life and add some of his work to the timeline.

As an extension of this activity, you might have students identify further questions that they have about Matisse and his art or you might begin a broader study of artists and their representation in picture book biographies. Note the artists included in the general Classroom Bookshelf blogs. 

In Books Alive, there are a number of artsy lessons. You will find entries for sculptors and sculpting as well as painters. When looking at sculpture explore Sandy’s Circus, Metal Man, and Christo and Jeanne-Claude and Just Behave, Pablo Picasso! and Monet Paints a Day. If they’re not already posted, be patient those entries will be posted as soon as they are revised and updated.

The Classroom Bookshelf (only Matisse and Marceau) http://www.theclassroombookshelf.com/2013/05/picture-book-biographies-of-artists-marceau-and-matisse/

The Classroom Bookshelf blog features several titles ideally suited to this activity: Diego Rivera: His World and Ours, Georgia in Hawaii: When Georgia O’Keeffe Painted What She Pleased, and Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave, A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin, The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art, Edward Hopper Paints His World, Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat – 2017 Caldecott Medal Winner, Between the Lines: How Ernie Barnes Went from the Football Field to the Art Gallery, World Make Way: New Poems Inspired by Art from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Imagine! and Imagine   http://www.theclassroombookshelf.com

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mati/hd_mati.htm

This website includes a slideshow of Matisse’s work that could be used with one of the ideas from The Classroom Bookshelf blog listed above.

Related Books:

Henri Matisse by Chabot, Jean-Philippe — Moonlight Publishing Ltd, 1997--709.2; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.1 Includes painted transparent overlays and some die-cut pages. Looks at the life and art of Henri Matisse. 

 Henri's scissors by Winter, Jeanette — Beach Lane Books, 2013--759.4; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.4 Describes how French artist Henri Matisse was still able to create art after a serious illness confined him to his bed. 

Henri Matisse : drawing with scissors by O'Connor, Jane  — Grosset & Dunlap, 2002--736; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.6 Presents the life and work of Henri Matisse in the form of a child's school report.

Painting Pepette by Lodding, Linda Ravin  — Little Bee Books, 2016 -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.6. Join one little girl named Josette as she searches 1920s Paris to find the best artist to paint a portrait of her stuffed-animal rabbit, Pepette. After seeing all the fine portraits of her family in her house in Paris, Josette decides that her stuffed-animal rabbit Pepette needs a portrait of her own. The two of them set off for Montmartre, the art center of 1920s Paris, to seek out an artist to paint Pepette's portrait. They encounter Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Marc Chagall, and Henri Matisse, who all try their hand at capturing the rabbit.

The iridescence of birds : a book about Henri Matisse by MacLachlan, Patricia  — Roaring Brook Press, 2014. 759.4; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 4.4. If you were a boy named Henri Matisse who lived in a dreary town in northern France, what would your life be like? Would it be full of color and art? Full of lines and dancing figures?Find out in this beautiful, unusual picture book about one of the world's most famous and influential artists 

A bird or two : a story about Henri Matisse by Le Tord, Bijou  — Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 1999--759.4; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 5.0 Simple text and bright illustrations describe the work of French painter, Henri Matisse, particularly his joyful use of color. 

Matisse's garden by Friedman, Samantha ( — The Museum of Modern Art, 2014 : -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 5.0  Introduces the artwork of Henri Matisse.

Name that style : all about isms in art by Raczka, Bob  — Millbrook Press, 2009--709; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 5.8 Examines various art movements throughout history, and provides an example of work of art from each style in order to aid in identification; and covers naturalism, realism, cubism, impressionism, abstract expressionism, and more.