Charlotte in New York [Hardcover]

Joan MacPhail Knight (Author), Melissa Sweet (Illustrator)

Book Description

Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Charlotte

It's 1894. Charlotte and her American family have been living in France for two years where her father has learned the new way of painting called Impressionism. Now her father's paintings are going to be featured in a show in New York and the whole family is going along. New York is a hustling, bustling city like no other in the world, and Charlotte records it all in her colorful journal.

Illustrated with striking museum reproductions, beautiful watercolor paintings, and collages, the book also includes biographical sketches of the featured painters. Charlotte's exciting journey to the city that never sleeps will make any reader shout, "I love New York!"

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joan MacPhail Knight lives in New York with her husband.

Melissa Sweet has illustrated over thirty children's books. Every year she takes a trip to collect images for her beautiful collages. She lives in Maine.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 52 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (August 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811850056
• ISBN-13: 978-0811850056
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #416,356 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #81 in Books > Children's Books > Arts, Crafts & Music > Art > Painting

More About the Author

I was about Charlotte's age when I set sail with my family on the S.S. Independence to Paris, where we were to live for six years. We then moved to Tunisia and, while we were there, I went to boarding school in Switzerland. Next we moved to Tripoli, Libya, where I had a spotted dog named Couscous, a lively donkey called Duncan, and more lizards than I could count. Because we moved so often my growing-up years were fragmented, and my childhood memories are very important to me - I turn to them for inspiration. I continue to keep in touch with my school friends in Paris and return to France whenever I can. It was on one of these trips that I discovered Giverny for myself and saw the wonderful collection of American Impressionist paintings in the Musée Americain. It inspired me to write the first book in the Charlotte series, Charlotte in Giverny. I should mention that I had no idea at the time that it would be the first in a series of Charlotte books - I thought it would be a one-time thing!

Here's what people say about my Charlotte series:

Charlotte in Giverny
"Part faux diary, part scrapbook, this charming volume teeters between picture book and novel.... a most appealing art history lesson." -- Publishers Weekly

Charlotte in Paris
"...reproductions of paintings, small watercolors, collages of objects Charlotte has saved, and a certain amount of French vocabulary adorn the utterly engaging text. Biographies of the painters, painting credits, and an author's note round out this charming offering." -- Booklist

Charlotte in New York
"This author-illustrator pair successfully continues the conceit of the child of a fictional 19th-century American painter living in Giverny, in Paris and now in New York. The pair's attention to historical detail is utterly winning. For example, Charlotte's entries in her diary about Monsieur Durand-Ruel's auto breaking down in Giverny, the crossing on the ship Champagne from Le Havre or the Havemeyers' ball in New York." -- Kirkus Reviews


Charlotte in London
"Art-loving Charlotte, who has globe-trotted from Giverny to Paris to New York, now writes of her trip to London in 1895 in this handsomely illustrated journal. The family goes to England in hopes that Charlotte's mother will be painted by John Singer Sargent, but that's only a thread in this story, which is as much about new adventures as it is about art. As in previous books, much care and thought have been put into the book's design. Sweet's own illustrations are small gems, but there are interesting reproductions here as well. For readers who want to know more, there's plenty of back matter to inform. A bloomin' delight." -- Booklist

I now have two grown daughters and live in New York's Hudson Valley with my Bill and our Brussels Griffon dogs. When I'm not writing or gardening, Bill and I are busy with our company, Catskill Mountain Pictures, scouting locations for film, fashion and television.

Where is Charlotte off to next? Misty, mysterious Venice! Stay tuned...

Joan

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Charlotte's best adventure yet...., October 14, 2006

By 

Cameron Shore (Sag Harbor, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Charlotte in New York (Hardcover)

I am a huge fan of Charlotte in Giverny and Charlotte in Paris-and I have to say this book is my favorite Charlotte yet. Once again we read Charlotte's journal-and her voice is so strong and true one forgets she is a fictionalized character! Of course the period postcards, photographs and lush paintings are all transporting...the author brings a human context to the paintings (we find Charlotte herself in a watercolor by Maurice Prendergast--and she even comes to own a luminous Theodore Butler of the Statue of Liberty...)A beautiful effort on the part of the author and illustrator-I am just delighted by this vibrant, historical, and yet personal journey...the book is a vivid glimpse into a young girl's life in the year 1894...a true success and a glorious read!!!

3.0 out of 5 stars Different than I thought..., September 12, 2010

By 

K. Lonsdale - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Charlotte in New York (Hardcover)

I thought this was going to be a modern day exploration about the history of NYC. However, the book is set in the 1800s and discusses more of the art surrounding NYC during that time period and virtually no info about modern NYC. Still a great book, but might be a little boring for a child unless they can really relate to Charlotte.

5.0 out of 5 stars exciting unique story book that subtly educates the primary schooler, October 2, 2008

By 

Jim Kyriacopoulos (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Charlotte in New York (Hardcover)

My daughter has fallen in love with these books and it was our goal to collect the series for her.
This clever and beautiful story book encompasses history lessons, geography lessons, art lessons, cooking lessons and French lessons in a wonderfully fun way for a little girl.
The creative use of real paintings, old photoes and postcards as the illustrations further enhance the experience of Charlotte's journeys into your own child's world.