Hello Rousseau!
Catherine de Duve
Reviewed by Barb Radmore
Hello Rousseau! is a children's book that is both a biography and an
art book about the painter Henri Rousseau. It is a book that encourages
knowledge and creativity- a winning combination. It tells the story of
the artist's life, both the every day and the art related. But is is
Rousseau's paintings that are the focus of the book. Each painting is
examined in a way that can appeal to children in almost a "find the
hidden object game' way. The details of the art is shown in some of the
pages. Others deal with such art concepts as color, shape, form and
even perspective. Each idea is presented in a kid friendly manner, with
ways to stimulate their own thinking and creativity.
This book goes beyond the common book that just shows paintings or
tells about an author's life and times (although the first chapter "In
the Time of Henri Rousseau' does a terrific job of portraying the time
in a few concise pages). It shows the inspiration, techniques and
concepts that make the artist unique and noteworthy. The section "Naive
Artist" shows the differences in how hands can look, the chapter "Dream
Lions" examines the feelings felt by both artist and viewer. Each
chapter is only two pages long but each is filled with an important
lesson or idea. The book itself is interactive with places for
children to react to the art in writing, coloring or drawing.
This is a wonderful book for anyone who would like to introduce their
children to art, artists and fine art. The author has also written
Hello Matisse. Birdcage Press also has many other art related games and
books for children and their families.