Art & Max

All Ages

Birth - 12 months

Art & Max

by David Wiesner

A three-time Caldecott Medalist delivers a mixed-media picture book about friendship and art. Max and Arthur are friends who share an interest in painting. Arthur is an accomplished painter; Max is a beginner. Max's first attempt at using a paintbrush sends the two friends on a whirlwind trip through various artistic media, which turn out to have unexpected pitfalls. Although Max is inexperienced, he's courageous - and a quick learner. His energy and enthusiasm bring the adventure to its triumphant conclusion. Beginners everywhere will take heart.

Age: 5 Year-olds | Title: Art & Max | Author: David Wiesner | Publisher: Clarion Books

Why we chose this book

There is a good reason Art and Max was on every 'top children's books' list for 2010. David Wiesner broke from his usual tradition of wordless books that tell a story through breathtaking illustrations, and cleverly tells this story by observing Art and Max's conversation. There is no narrator or third person and no quotations, just two different fonts to delineate who is speaking. This encourages parents to assign different voices to the characters, adding fun for the little listener in your life. The pictures call upon readers' imaginations, challenging children to think conceptually about how their favorite cartoons come to life. Max gets paint all over Art, and when he tries various methods to get it off, Art's original color comes off too - he is clear! Next, Max pulls on the black lines of Art's outline and unravels him! Max spends the rest of the book trying to put Art back together again with his original coloring.

Your child will be inspired by Art and Max's painting adventure and probably want to participate themselves. Be prepared for them to ask about paining; so have the paints and rules ready to go, or have a few really good reasons as to why painting is not allowed in the house. If painting at home is not a great option for you, there is still fun you can have with imagination. What ideas does your child have for what Max could have painted (instead of Arthur), or what would your chiold paint if they could pain anything? Your little reader may be able to relate to Max's extreme excitability and eagerness to be involved and help with whatever is going on at the moment. You can point this out to them and discuss how Art wouldn't have disappeared for a time if Max had just slowed down a bit and considered his actions more, rather than performing the first action that came to mind.

My five year-old niece Emily had me read this book to her three times in a row the first time I brought it over. She loved how much I exaggerated the voice differences between the characters, and she liked to stare at the pictures before allowing me to turn the page. After reading it, she was certainly inspired and started spouting off all of the things she planned to draw soon. They included things like her family, the magic school bus, and the way candy makes her feel. I am interested to see what she does with that last one!

--Audra

About the author

David Wiesner has been awarded the Caldecott Medal three times, for "Flotsam" in 2007, "The Three Pigs" in 2002, and "Tuesday" in 1992. He has received the Caldecott Honor twice, for "Sector 7" in 2000 and "Free Fall" in 1989. His cover art now graces "The Chronicles of Narnia" by C. S. Lewis. Among many other accolades, David has been nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award.