[BOOK REVIEW] Seen Art? by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith

Title:  Seen Art?

Author:  Jon Scieszka

Artist:  Lane Smith

Genre:  Art / Humor / Surrealism

Year Published: 2005

Year Read:  2015

Publisher: Viking

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 4+  (Some Bizarre Imagery)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

I have been reading many children’s books by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith for many years now, which includes “The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales” and “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs,” and I had enjoyed most of their stories!  So, when I finally stumbled upon one of their more recent collaborations, “Seen Art?” I just had to give this book a try!

The book starts off with a young boy looking for his friend Art and when he asked a lady about where his friend Art is, the lady said:

“MoMa?” asked the lady.

“Uh…no, he’s just a friend.”

“Just down Fifty-Third Street here.  In that beautiful new building.  You can’t miss it.”

So, the boy goes to the Museum of Modern Art to find his friend, but everywhere he goes, everyone keeps showing him a different painting or sculpture, instead of showing him where his friend is.

Will the boy be able to find his friend Art?

Read this book to find out!

Now, I will admit that when I first saw the cover of this book, I was thinking to myself that I might not like this book because the cover looked boring.  Man, this really tells me to not judge a book by its cover as I really enjoyed this book and all the creativity being put into it!  Jon Scieszka as always had done a brilliant job at writing this book as the humor is cute and witty and I loved seeing how the young boy is trying to tell everyone at the Museum that he only came there to look for his friend Art, but they keep on misunderstanding his concerns by showing him various artworks instead. Lane Smith’s artwork is truly surreal yet creative at the same time, as we are treated to having the real life artwork from the Museum of Modern Art pasted alongside Lane Smith’s own illustrations of the characters and it really brings out the creativity in this story!  I also loved the fact that there is information about each artwork being used in this book at the back of this book as it helped me distinguish who had done each artwork, such as recognizing Vincent Van Gogh’s famous painting “The Starry Night.”

Overall, “Seen Art?” is a truly creative book for children who enjoy the beauty of art and who are fans of Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith’s works!  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate about this book, unless the artwork is a little too strange for some children.

[BOOK REVIEW] Grandpa Green by Lane Smith

Title:  Grandpa Green

Author:  Lane Smith

Genre:  Family / Gardening / Art / History

Year Published: 2011

Year Read:  2014

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Nothing Objectionable)

“He was a boy on a farm and a kid with chickenpox.  He was a soldier and a husband, and a gardener, and most of all, an artist.”

I have read many books that were either illustrated or written by Lane Smith and some of my favorite books that were both illustrated and written by Lane Smith was “It’s a Book.”  But, I had discovered this new book by Lane Smith called “Grandpa Green,” which was a Caldecott Honor book and it was seriously one of Lane Smith’s most heartwarming books ever written!

The book starts off with a young boy narrating the life of his grandfather and how his grandfather had started out as a child growing up on the farm to fighting in the war to eventually becoming a loving husband.  The grandfather’s life story is told through the bush sculptures that he creates in his garden in order to help him remember his past life.

Now, I will admit that even though I did not understand this book when I first read it, when I read this book the second time around, I ended up really loving the emotional tone of the story!  Lane Smith has truly crafted a heartwarming story about a boy’s grandfather’s life being told through his gardening work as the grandfather makes sculptures of people and places from his past life through the garden shrubbery.  I also loved the way that Lane Smith narrated the life of the boy’s grandfather as the grandfather went through so many events during his life such as fighting in a war and then getting married as it made the story truly uplifting and passionate to read and I truly could relate to the grandfather as he went through so many events in his life that made his life truly inspiring to his great-grandson.  Lane Smith’s artwork is truly gorgeous as the garden shrubbery are the ones that are mostly colored in green, which really stands out from the rest of the illustration’s more lighter tones and I loved the way that the garden shrubberies would take various shapes such as people and airplanes as the boy is describing his grandfather’s life to the readers.

Overall, “Grandpa Green” is a truly inspirational and beautiful book that children who have grandparents that have accomplished many great things in their lives should definitely check out this book! I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since some children might be a bit confused about what the story is all about when they read this book the first time around.

[BOOK REVIEW] It's a Book by Lane Smith

Title:  It's a Book

Author: Lane Smith

Genre: Humor / Reading / Animals

Year Published: 2010

 
Year Read:  2013

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press


Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 6+ (One Use of the Word "Jackass")

“Not a laptop, not a blog, just a book.”

After hearing so many awesome reviews about this book and after reading so many children’s books illustrated by Lane Smith, I just had to check out this book, “It’s a Book” and man, was it one children’s book that I thoroughly enjoyed!

The book starts off with a monkey reading a book when suddenly; a donkey comes by and asks the monkey what he has in his hands. The monkey tells the donkey that he is reading a book. But the donkey mistakes the book for a computer and keeps on asking the monkey throughout this story about whether or not the book can text, tweet, scroll or have wi-fi, while the monkey constantly tells the donkey that the book does not have all that.

Wow! Lane Smith has seriously made me realize just how important books are, especially in the technological age of our society!  I loved the fact that this book was trying to make a statement on how today’s society is so reliant on technology, such as the use of laptops and social networks like Twitter and the fact that the donkey in this story does not know how books really work was so hilarious and charming to look at!  Now, I will admit that I am one of those people who use technology to advance my lifestyle since I also enjoy blogging, tweeting and using wi-fi for my laptop whenever I can.  But, I also enjoy a good book every once in awhile and this book really made me see the importance of enjoying a good book, even if you also love using technology to enhance your lifestyle.  I loved the fact that the monkey was trying to tell the donkey that even though his book does not have all the entertaining advancements in a computer like social networks, the book can still be entertaining as long as there is a good story to be told.  Lane Smith’s artwork is so cute and hilarious to look at, especially of the images of the donkey, the monkey and the mouse themselves!  I loved the way that the donkey is drawn, as he has gray colored fur and wears a blue shirt and black pants which make him look so modern compared to the monkey.  I also loved the fact that the monkey wears a white polka dotted green shirt and a small hat which makes him look laid-back and the fact that his head is so large really makes his design so hilarious to look at!

Even though the use of the word “jackass” is being used as a way to describe a donkey, some parents might be worried that this word would be offensive to read to their children.  Now, personally I did not have a problem with the use of the word “jackass” since I knew that it was being used to describe a donkey and I personally thought that it was not use in an offensive way.  But, with the way the “a” word is being thrown around nowadays, I can understand a parent’s concern about the use of the “a” word in a children’s book. Parents should explain to their children that the “a” word also means “donkey” and that in this case, it is not used as an offensive way to call people names.

Overall, “It’s a Book” is a truly brilliant book that really points out the comparisons between a computer and a book and how they would affect the person using them. I would highly recommend this book to children and parents who love reading books that show the importance of books in society as a whole!  This book would be best suited for children ages six and up since the use of the word “jackass” might be controversial to some readers.