Lily Brown's Paintings [Hardcover]

Angela Johnson (Author), E. B. Lewis (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Author Angela Johnson and illustrator E. B. Lewis combine their award-winning talents to create a dazzling celebration of family and creativity.

When Lily Brown paints, her world starts to change . . .
trees wear hats and drink tea, people walk upside down, and apples sing all the way home from the store.
It's Lily Brown's world, and it's wondrous.
A little paint and a lot of love bring imagination to life in this captivating picture book. Angela Johnson's lyrical writing compliments E. B. Lewis' delightful watercolors. This book marks a different approach for E. B. Lewis' artwork as his images imitate the great artists, such as Van Gogh and Matisse.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Not all artists lead tortured lives. At least, not this heroine, an African-American girl who "loves her mamma, daddy and baby brother and the world they live in." Johnson (Toning the Sweep) portrays a painter filled with a joie de vivre ("Sometimes she spins around her room thinking about their world. And it's wondrous") that takes flight in her paintings. Lily fills her whimsical, vibrant pictures with bright colors, and smiling faces, such as the one in which "the trees that she walks past on her way to school wear hats and drink tea on cool days with other trees and shrubbery." Lewis's (The Other Side) watercolors are equally rapturous, whether he's working in a sumptuous realistic style (for Lily's everyday life) or in the cheery naïf manner of Lily herself. He also makes the beret-wearing Lily truly charismatic; by turns vivacious and utterly intent on her work, she's the very picture of a budding artist (in fact, when she's not in a spread, the energy of even the cheeriest picture flags slightly). But unfortunately this tribute to the power of imagination ends up feeling rather flat; with no arc or narrative tension, the book feels more like a pat on the head than a clarion call. Ages 4-8. (Jan.)
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From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2—Lily loves the real world in which she lives with her parents and baby brother. But when she paints, her world is transformed into a magical place indeed. Stars come to Earth and relax in cafés. Trees wear hats and drink tea. Fruit sings on its journey to people's homes. Lewis's watercolor spreads become delightfully childlike when depicting the girl's creations and pay tribute to the artists who inspired him as a youngster. Lily's bedroom and her painting of a star-studded café bring to mind Van Gogh's work. Her conversion of a path to the park into a "wild-animal living room" is a nod to Gauguin. The text comes full circle as Lily, her paints tucked away for the day, reenters the world of her loving family. Pair this story with Peter H. Reynolds's The Dot (2003) and Ish (2004, both Candlewick) to inspire readers to don their painting smocks and create new worlds of their own.—Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Orchard Books (January 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439782252
• ISBN-13: 978-0439782258
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 9.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #721,688 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Angela Johnson is the author of the Coretta Scott King Honor picture book When I Am Old with You; as well as A Sweet Smell of Roses, illustrated by Eric Velasquez; Just Like Josh Gibson, illustrated by Beth Peck; and I Dream of Trains, which was also illustrated by Loren Long. She has won three Coretta Scott King Awards, one each for her novels Heaven, Toning the Sweep, and The First Part Last. In recognition of her outstanding talent, Angela was named a 2003 MacArthur Fellow. She lives in Kent, Ohio.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What will a happy child paint?, November 5, 2009

By 

Judy K. Polhemus "Book Collector" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lily Brown's Paintings (Hardcover)

What will a child paint if a child is happy? Lily Brown is a happy child and Lily Brown paints exuberance! Bold, vivid, splashy, alive with joy, exuberance! That's what Lily Brown does, indeed, paint. Exuberance!

First, Lily Brown loves her wondrous world of father, mother, and baby brother. Lily's bedroom, oddly enough, resembles Vincent Van Gogh's bedroom in Arles. Actually, artist E.B. Lewis is paying tribute to one of the artists who, early on, profoundly effected his work--Vincent van Gogh.

"But when Lily Brown paints,/Her world starts to change." Stars fly off her painted page to place themselves in circles around the planets. Lily's world of created paintings--imaginative, fanciful, wild, bold, magical--make that leap of imagination. Throughout the book Lewis paints Lily painting wonderful settings and bold color combinations. Soon enough someone will take it upon him/herself to suggest Lily stop painting those garish pictures, like rows of red corn, adjacent to purple skyscrapers. Lily is sailing through those cornfields in her sturdy sailboat powered by a blue and yellow sail.

Back in her regular world Lily holds hands with her brother until he falls asleep. And, of course, she still finds her family world also wondrous.

Another reviewer praises the colors but suggests the story line is flat. It may be, if the intent of the book is story. Perhaps Angela Johnson and Lewis are celebrating the inner life of the artist, steeped in the time slide during the creative process. Perhaps it's a celebration of the magic-making mystery of creativity fueled by imagination. Whatever it is, the reader will delight in either world of wonders!

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple and Beautiful, November 18, 2009

By 

Jess Moyer "education student" (NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lily Brown's Paintings (Hardcover)

Some of the art is in E.B. Lewis' traditional style but many pages are as if painted by Lily and are more childlike, but they are all beautiful fun illustrations. The text describes the world of fantasy created by this happy inspired little girl. While it would be a great choice for any child preschool to second grade I think its especially good for children interested in art because it validates children as the wonderful creative artists they often are.

5.0 out of 5 stars This story was inspired by the author's own appreciation for art., July 10, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lily Brown's Paintings (Hardcover)

Angela Johnson and E.B. Lewis' LILY BROWN'S PAINTINGS tells of Lilly Brown, who paints her world and by doing so, changes it with her fantasy images. From singing apples to trees wearing hats, this story was inspired by the author's own appreciation for art.