Self-Portrait With Seven Fingers [Hardcover]

J. Patrick Lewis (Author), Jane Yolen (Editor), Marc Chagall (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 24, 2011 | Age Range: 11 and up

To do something with seven fingers is a Yiddish expression meaning to do something well or adroitly. Marc Chagall was a Russian Jew and a wandering dreamer. From his humble hometown of Vitebsk, Belarus, he went out to take in the world the grandeur of St. Petersburg, the romance of Paris, the freedom of New York. Through wars, Nazi persecution, and the passing of nine decades, he found love, pioneered techniques in modernism, and painted. Above all, he painted. Fourteen of Chagall's works are here vividly reproduced and accompanied by the poems of notable children's writers J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen in this colorful celebration of a most remarkable artist.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

With a title inspired by one of Marc Chagall’s paintings, this handsome, large-format book traces his life through free-verse poems and paragraphs of information, illuminated by excellent reproductions of his paintings and a few period photos of the artist and his world. Born in the Russian city of Vitebsk, Chagall married Bella, his muse and frequent model. A Jew, he left Russia in 1922 after the formation of the Soviet Union and fled Nazi-occupied Paris for New York in 1941. He returned to France after the war. Both Lewis and Yolen contribute poems, usually written from Chagall’s point of view, and the quality of the verse is quite good. A list of sources is appended. On a typical double-page spread, a clearly written paragraph of information works with the poem and the large illustration on the facing page to communicate a sense of who Marc Chagall was and what he loved as well as tracing the story of his life, noting his accomplishments, and commenting on the artworks shown. A unique introduction to Chagall and his art. Grades 5-8. --Carolyn Phelan

Review

With a title inspired by one of Marc Chagall's paintings, this handsome, large format book traces his life through freeverse poems and paragraphs of information, illuminated by excellent reproductions of his paintings and a few period photos of the artist and his world. Born in the Russian city of Vitebsk, Chagall married Bella, his muse and frequent model. A Jew, he left Russia in 1922 after the formation of the Soviet Union and fled Nazi-occupied Paris for New York in 1941. He returned to France after the war. Both Lewis and Yolen contribute poems, usually written from Chagall's point of view, and the quality of the verse is quite good. A list of sources is appended. On a typical double-page spread, a clearly written paragraph of information works with the poem and the large illustration on the facing page to communicate a sense of who Marc Chagall was and what he loved as well as tracing the story of his life, noting his accomplishments, and commenting on the artworks shown. A unique introduction to Chagall and his art.

Lewis and Yolen pair 14 poems about Marc Chagall (1887-1985) with reproductions of more than a dozen of his paintings (as well as vintage photographs) in this moving account of the artist's Jewish upbringing in what is now Belarus ("Oh, Uncle, play me a communion,/ on your kishefdik violin"), his ascent in the art world, and his loves and losses, including arrest by the Nazis while living in Paris ("There is no arguing with soldiers,/ no pleading while wearing the yellow star"). The duo's emphatic and empathetic verse is put into context by informative biographical sidebars that appear beneath each poem. A study in resilience, dedication, and wide-ranging talent. Ages 11-up. (Nov.)

Two equally esteemed poets lend their voices to the art of Marc Chagall. Fourteen poems, which take their titles from Chagall's paintings, provide a chronological narrative of the artist's life, up to his death at age 97 in 1985. Excellent-quality reproductions grace this picture-book-size volume, as do photographs of the artist. There are explanatory notes beneath each poem and a bibliography at the end. Yolen's "Maternity" begins with Chagall's birth, in the then Russian city of Vitebsk; family members toast with schnapps-"May he be a herring merchant like his father." But it is his mother who seems aware of the muse already present in the room: "May he always be happy in his work." Some of Yolen's poems are flavored with Yiddish (translations appear at the bottom of the pages); Lewis's poems are more formal but are also rich in revelation about the paintings. In "I and the Village" he writes, "I knew myself, white lips, my face in green, / I drew the cow's contentment in between." Both poets offer readers new understandings of the paintings: Yolen's "The Flying Horse" conveys the inescapable fear present during the Holocaust, while Lewis's "The Fall of Icarus" provides a horrifying explanation of the red path that divides the painting. The writers grasp the iconography and sensibility of Chagall's work and provide readers with new paths to make this strange and beautiful journey.

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Product Details

• Age Range: 11 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Creative Editions (August 24, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568462115
• ISBN-13: 978-1568462110
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,256,520 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

After nearly three decades as a professor of economics, J. Patrick Lewis turned to poetry. He is the author of more than 75 children's books including A Hippopotamusn't (1990), BoshBlobberBosh (1998), Please Bury Me in the Library (2004), First Dog (2009), Spot the Plot (2009), and The House (2009).

He has recently been named the third U.S. Children's Poet Laureate (2011-2013) by the Poetry Foundation.

His books have been published by Creative Editions, Knopf, Atheneum, Dial, Harcourt, Little, Brown, National Geographic, Chronicle Books, Scholastic, Candlewick, Schwartz & Wade, Holiday House, Sleeping Bear Press, Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press, Dawn Publications, and others. Gulls Hold Up the Sky, his first book of adult poems, was published by Laughing Fire Press (2010).

Pat's children's poems have also appeared in CRICKET (26 times), SPIDER, LADYBUG, CICADA, ODYSSEY, RANGER RICK, HIGHLIGHTS FOR CHILDREN, Ms. Magazine, YOUR BIG BACKYARD, CREATIVE CLASSROOM, STORYTIME, STORYWORKS, CHICKADEE, AHOY, LANGUAGE ARTS, JOURNAL OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE, BOOKBIRD, READING TODAY and over 100 anthologies. He wrote the 1992 National Children's Book Week poem, printed on one million bookmarks and distributed nationally.

Lewis has received numerous awards from the American Library Association, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and others. He was the recipient of the 2010-11 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Excellence in Children's Poetry Award, presented every two years.

WHERE I'LL BE NEXT--Schools, Bookstores, Conferences

October 14-16, 2011 Poetry Foundation--TED Lecture Chicago, Illiniois
October 23-25, 2011 NY State Reading Assn. Rye Brook, New York
October 28-31, 2011 Keystone State Reading Assn. Lancaster, Pennsylvania
November 5, 2011 Buckeye Book Fair Wooster, Ohio
November 8, 2011 Ashland University Ashland, Ohio
November 15-16, 2011 St. Joseph's College Rensselaer, Indiana
November 17-20, 2011 NCTE Convention Chicago, Illinois
December 1, 2010 Hillview Elementary Newark, Ohio
December 8, 2011 West Chester University (Dan Darigan) West Chester, PA
January 18, 2012 Richard Avenue Elementary Grove City, Ohio
January 24, 2012 Fouse Elementary Westerville, Ohio
March 1-3, 2012 Charlotte Huck Ch. Lit. Conference Redlands, California
April 3-5, 2012 Holland Hall Primary Tulsa, Oklahoma
April 12, 2012 Washington-Centerville Public Library Centerville, Ohio
April 13, 2012 Stingley Elementary Centerville, Ohio
April 17-25, 2012 Anglo-American School Moscow, Russia
April 29-May 2, 2012 IRA Convention Chicago, Illinois
May 10, 2012 Wynford Elementary Bucyrus, Ohio
March 22, 2013 OCTELA Conference Columbus, Ohio

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Self-Portrait with Seven Fingers December 8, 2011

By S. Heisner

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is an amazing biography of Marc Chagall. The poetry brings his artwork (reproduced in the book) into focus as it tells his life story.