ANNOTATION

The author/illustrator describes how his mother's wish to spend her birthday visiting an art museum with her family changed the course of his life forever.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The same family that had such an enlightening experience in Anthony Browne's Zoo is now going to an art museum, Mom's choice for her birthday treat. But wisecracking Dad and their two sons are skeptical about how much fun this trip will be, and they're not quite sure what to make of the art. ("What on earth is that supposed to be?" asks Dad.) But, with Mom's help, once the boys start really looking at the paintings, they begin to find what pleasures they contain. Most of the family leave with a new appreciation of art - Dad is just never going to get it - as well as a sketchbook. On the trip home, Mom teaches the boys - and readers - a drawing game, which one of her sons (this book's author) has been playing ever since.

This new book is the product of Anthony Browne's engagement as writer-and-illustrator-in-residence at the Tate Britain in London. There he worked with a thousand children from inner-city schools, teaching literature using the resources in the gallery - and playing the shape game. In his artwork for the book, he surreally transforms, in his signature style, some famous paintings in the Tate's collection.

FROM THE CRITICS

The New York Times

We leave the story with a sense that somehow the museum outing has mattered -- not only to Anthony, but to everyone. And that is how it really is when we take our children into the world and experience something new together. — Emily Jenkins

Publishers Weekly

The family that visited animals in Zoo here takes a trip to London's Tate Britain museum. Browne, as the museum's writer-and-illustrator-in-residence, taught children from inner-city schools using the Tate's resources, and this book-offering a clever and quirky visual interpretation of some of the museum's offerings-grew out of that experience. Though the young narrator, his brother and constantly wise-cracking father agree (rather reluctantly) to accompany the boy's mother to the museum on her birthday, he comments that "it turned out to be a day that changed my life forever." As Mom poses questions that encourage the others to analyze the images and action in various works of art, the family is drawn into the paintings-quite literally. Real and surreal events collide as the family members replace characters in the art, and the goings-on within and beyond the frames becomes comically blurred. On the way home, Mom teaches the boys what the narrator calls "a brilliant drawing game," in which one person draws a shape ("any shape, it's not supposed to be anything, just a shape") and the next person adds to it, changing it "into something." The endpapers present examples of some of the lively images that can result from this inviting exercise. This personal, playful introduction to art and drawing may well give readers a fresh take on both. Ages 5-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Sharon Salluzzo

When his mother says she wants to go "somewhere different" for her birthday, the little boy, his brother and father find themselves at the art museum. Although the boys were skeptical at first, their mother explained how to look at a picture. After that, they searched for details. When it was time to go home, they purchased some pens and a blank notebook. On the way home, they played the shape game. "And, in a way, I've been playing the shape game ever since..." says the author. Developed from his year as the writer-and-illustrator-in-residence at Tate Britain in London, Browne uses his experiences to create an introduction to art. From the father's corny jokes, to the desire to be home watching an important soccer game on TV, to the way he blends fantasy and reality, Browne reaches out to the reluctant. He adds quirky touches to the illustrations that bring humor to the topic. He explains how to look at a painting. Unfortunately, the reproduction of the background of the painting, "Past and Present No. 1" is small and dark and difficult to discern. Overall, however, readers will enjoy visiting the museum with this family. It just might encourage children to play their own shape game. 2003, Farrar Straus Giroux, Ages 4 to 8.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 4-Browne describes how an eye-opening family trip to a museum changed his life forever. A m lange of art appreciation, personal inspiration, groan-outloud puns, and imagination-stretching illustrations. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Children who respond to fine art with indifference may change their tunes in the wake of this decidedly un-boring family outing to the galleries of London¿¿¿s Tate Britain. In Browne¿¿¿s hands, it¿¿¿s a Tate transformed. In or alongside reproductions of actual paintings, he adds labels, suggests connections, and makes changes both playful or thought-provoking: a scowling lad poses next to John Martin¿¿¿s thunderous Great Day of His Wrath, for instance; a historical battle scene is recast with modern figures; and a lion steps down from a dramatic George Stubbs painting to glare at the family¿¿¿s wisecracking father--who makes further appearances as Napoleon, as an old salt in Millais¿¿¿s Boyhood of Raleigh, and as everyone in Peter Blake¿¿¿s The Meeting, or Have a Nice Day, Mr. Hockney. Browne¿¿¿s title refers to a closing game, in which one player draws an abstract shape and another turns it into something recognizable. The visit turns the young narrator (Browne?) into an artist; it may not be such a life-changing experience for readers, but they will come away armed with several engaging ways to enliven their approach to art. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-10)