Customer Reviews

Chasing Degas

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The little ballerina and her fellow dancers had just finished up their "last rehearsal before the recital." A little dachshund watched as some of the girls still worked at the bar while others were preparing to leave. They were well rehearsed and the little girl was anxious to wear her new tutu during the recital. She had packed it in her bag, but when she went to try it on the only thing she found were Monsieur Degas' paints. He had come to the opera house to paint them and had mistakenly taken her bag. She dashed into the street, ignoring the rain, in search of Monsieur Degas. She just had to find him before the show went on!

Gustave Caillebotte was painting a street scene, but when she asked after Degas, he quickly referred her to Claude Monet who was up on a hotel balcony. He "painted a dot on his canvas" before answering. Yes, he had seen Monsieur Degas, but he was not anywhere in sight. He suggested she try the Moulin de la Galette. By the time she got there, the sun was shining and she saw him next to another painter. She pirouetted quickly across the floor, but he was gone. Monsieur Renoir directed her to Père Tanguy's shop. No Degas there, nor at Madame Cassatt's. Was she ever going to find Monsieur Degas and her new tutu in time for the recital?

This is a beautiful sweeping book that will introduce the young reader to the world of Impressionism. I loved the swirling little search for Degas through the streets of Paris. The idea and theme for the little ballerina to peer at other Impressionist's works as she searched was ingenious. My favorite was when she met Mary Cassatt's model who threw herself in a chair, a session that culminated in the painting, "Girl in the Blue Chair." There was only one little detail that threw me and that was a typographical error in the sentence, "Excuse me, but have you see Monsieur Degas." It certainly does not take away from the beauty of this book, but some people may object. In the back of the book are reproductions of the original paintings and a brief discussion on Impressionist painters.

We received this book as a gift for our 5-year old daughter. I thought it was a really interesting story idea. A little girl "switches" bags at her dance recital with Degas. She ends up with a bag of paints, and he ends up with her tutu. She travels through Paris, meeting other famous painters, trying to find Degas. Cute idea. What adds to the cuteness of the story is that each painter she encounters is painting one of their more famous paintings when the encounter the girl and each painting ties into the story. The illustrations are pretty and whimsical. My daughter, a dancer, asked at the end of the story if it really happened. On the last page of the book, following a brief explanation of each of the paintings, there is a short paragraph stating that although this story did not really happen, it could have. This was cute and a nice answer to my daughter's question! The reason I rated it as just average was that the story was a little "long winded" and although the story is aimed at 4-8 year olds, the content and the amount of French names in the story was a little much for this age group. I like the idea of introducing French painters to little ones, I just didn't think it worked out as good as it could have.

great story line incorporating the impressionist artists. Sounds so interesting when read aloud. Both my girls enjoy this book.

Degas is a wonder. This book is wonderful to read. My little girl is just an infant, but she loves the pictures and I enjoy reading the story (and I'll admit the pictures as well!) myself.

Bought for my four year old ballet dancer. The story is pretty contrived, but the author does manage to work in several of the best known impressionist painters and a little bit about them. The illustrations are very nice. My daughter has only asked to read it that once.