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The Iridescence Of Birds: A Book About Henri Matisse

Book Synopsis

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 by acclaimed author and Newbery Medal-winning Patricia MacLachlan and innovative illustrator Hadley Hooper.

Our Review Panel says...

The author and illustrator beautifully capture the story of artist Henri Matisse and explore the question: “Why do painters paint what they do? Do they paint what they see or what they remember?” The story explores Matisse’s boyhood influences through vibrant colours and artwork that evokes the painter he became, inspired by colour and light and movement. This book is a delight to read and pore over and will certainly nurture an appreciation of observation of the everyday world around us as an inspiration for art.