Dinner at Magritte's [Hardcover]

Michael Garland (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up

Colorful paintings inspired by Magritte complement the story of a young boys's escape from boredom to the house of his neighbors, Rene+a7 Magritte and his wife, and the world they share with Salvador Dali+a7 and other artists.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Young Pierre finds that weekends in the country outside Paris are a little too dull for his liking. There are no children to play with, and his parents sit "still as stone." But a visit next door soon changes all that, because Pierre is lucky enough to have as neighbors surrealist artist Rene Magritte and his wife, Georgette. On this particular day the Magrittes' friend Salvador Dali is invited to dinner, and an exciting affair it is-flying fish soup and partridge pie (the fish really leap and the birds still fly!). And before dinner, Pierre finds himself occupied with a croquet game (with a limp mallet) and a dash through the rain (cats and dogs tumble from the sky). Garland's droll text ("Did you dilly, Dali?") is complemented by Magritte-style oil paintings filled, appropriately, with surrealist images: Magritte's bowler hats, Dali's melted clocks, etc. A useful note sets Magritte and Dali (and Garland) in context. Paying tribute to the magic of surrealist art and to the ever-active imagination, this work is eerie, fun and inspiring. Ages 6-9.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6?Pierre, a curious French youngster, relieves the boredom of a weekend in the country with his stodgy parents by visiting the couple next door, Rene and Georgette Magritte. And guess who happens to drop in for dinner? Salvador Dali. The text is brief and without character. In keeping with the spirit of surrealism, the events of the day are mundane?a walk in the woods, a croquet game, charades, etc.?while the way the happenings are depicted is anything but ordinary. The full-page oil paintings that tell the visual tale are based on the work of the 20th-century Belgian artist who sets the tone when he tells his young friend, "Anyone can try to paint what they see. I like to paint what I think. I paint what I dream." Thus, the fun is in searching out and puzzling over the odd bits or laughing at the literal representation of "it started to rain cats and dogs." The illustrations are true to the spirit of the originals and are a soft-sell approach to art appreciation.?Kenneth Marantz, Art Education Department, Ohio State University, Columbus
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile; 1st edition (May 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525453369
• ISBN-13: 978-0525453369
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,238,474 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Award winning author and illustrator Michael Garland has been out on the New York Times Best Seller list four times.

Some recent Michael Garland books from are; Oh, What A Christmas! Scholastic, Miss Smith Under the Ocean, Dutton Publishers, and Grandpa's Tractor, Boyds Mills

Michael Garland's greatest success has been for writing and illustrating children's picture books. Garland's Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook recently won the California and Delaware State Reading Awards. He is currently working on his thirtieth book as author and illustrator.

Michael Garland has illustrated for celebrity authors like James Patterson and Gloria Estefan. His illustrations for Patterson's SantaKid were the inspiration for Sak's Fifth's Avenue's Christmas holiday window display in New York City. Garland's Christmas Magic has become a season classic and is currently being developed for a for a TV special.

His work has won many honors and is frequently included in the Society of Illustrators and the Original Art of Children's book show as well annuals from Print, Graphis and Communications Arts magazines. Recently, Michael Garland was included on the list of the top one hundred Irish Americans by Irish American Magazine.
Michael Garland is frequently asked to speak at schools, literary conferences and festivals across the country.

http://www.garlandpicturebooks.com

http://childrensbooksheal.com/2011/11/30/oh-what-a-christmas-by-michael-garland/

http://www.valcomnews.com/wp-content/PDFs/CalKids/CK1112.pdf

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Michael Garland

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Is Not A Book Review, July 16, 2001

By 

Bruce Crocker "agnostictrickster" (Whittier, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dinner at Magritte's (Hardcover)

Dinner At Magritte's by Michael Garland is a cool book and will evoke questions from any curious youngster. The story is simple: a bored young boy goes next door to his neighbors and the neighbors happen to be Mr. and Mrs. Rene Magritte. Salvador Dali shows up and the four spend the day together culminating in dinner and charades. However, the world the story takes place in is the surreal world of Dali's and Magritte's paintings. All the illustrations in the story except the first have surrealistic elements in them. Even after the story has been read over and over again, the pictures themselves will continue to provoke the young reader's mind. The book is a fun fantasy and a suprisingly good introduction to surrealism. I had the advantage of having parents who took me to art museums in every city we ever visited and I know that this exposure to a wide variety of art styles helped with the development of this science teacher's mind. Get this book and fire up your child's imagination.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dinner at Margritte's, May 24, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Dinner at Magritte's (Hardcover)

Although Dinner at Magritte's is not a biography, it is a fun book for the whole family. The book tells you about two famous artists. One is Rene Magritte and the other is Salvador Dali. It is about a boy, named Pierre, who is bored, so he goes to the Magritte's for dinner. Dali also comes to dinner. They do fun things that will make you laugh.

The illustrations are as good as the writing because each one shows the kind of painting that Dali or Magritte would do, but also tells you the silly story. I would recommend this book to the young and old and artists and non-artists. It is enjoyable for everyone.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A young boy goes to dinner with a couple of famous artists, September 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dinner at Magritte's (Hardcover)

I have found that children love to hear and see this book! They are excited to try to find the things that are not as they "should be" and they like the story itself. I have enjoyed it as well. We find some new illusion every time we read it!