Customer Reviews

Dinner at Magritte's

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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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.

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.

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!

Dinner with Magritte engages the reader at many levels. It is a visually stimulating book with a story that imagines a child's visit to his neighbor Magritte for dinner. Through the childs's eyes you are introduced to the strange & wonderful world of the artist. Many of the illustrations are variations on actual Magritte paintings delightfully interwoven into the plot of the story. You will recognize the bowler hat, blue sky with clouds and the walk through the woods from his actual works. I use the book as part of my volunteer artist awareness class. The book enchants the children from 1st grade through 6th. What a dissappointment to find it out of stock - I was going to buy two as gifts!

This book is GREAT. If you know Rene Magritte's work, you will be absolutely delighted. A MUST for true art lovers!

Very fun book for lots of different ages. Little kids (3-4) will think the paintings are hilarious; older ones will laugh at the wordplay. A good addition to your child's library.

What a fabulous way to introduce young readers to famous artists like Rene Magritte and Salvador Dali. We went to a museum exhibit a few weeks after finding this great book, and my 6 year old son was able to pick out a Magritte on the wall. A secondary benefit is to introduce the idea that all is not what it seems, and that what one person sees is not what the next person sees. A great find.