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Better Together
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 1-4-In 1841, orphaned Pip tries to earn a living as a limner, or itinerant painter, in order to keep his three sisters from the poorhouse. As he and his dog wander through the Pennsylvania countryside, the boy offers to paint portraits of family members, pets, and shopkeepers. As the year goes by, he continues to send messages to his sisters, promising that they will have their own home by Christmas. However, the folksy realism of his portraits captures every fault and blemish of his subjects and doesn't bring in much business and he returns home without money. When he is finally reunited with his sisters, he is astonished to find that they have spent the time making crafts and wreaths and opened a shop that will keep the family self-sufficient and together. The little-known craft of the limner is an intriguing bit of history. Hershenhorn tells an interesting tale but the narrative is somewhat stilted and episodic. Lloyd's illustrations take two forms; Pip's story is told with simple lines and colors in stylized sketches nicely balanced with the text while the passing seasons are portrayed in beautifully detailed egg tempera landscapes glowing with color and charm. An artist's note explains the complicated process of how they were done. While this is not a first purchase, it would be fine supplemental material for history units as well as art classes. Fascinating but limited.
Beth Tegart, Oneida City Schools, NY
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
K-Gr. 3. In the mid-nineteenth century, before photography, Americans commissioned portrait painters called "limners" to create lasting images of loved ones. Hershenhorn's latest is an illustrated tribute to those anonymous, wandering artists. When his limner father dies, young Pip Biddle leaves his three sisters at home and hits the road, hoping to try his hand at portrait painting. He soon discovers that no one wants a true likeness, one that reveals the subject's hooked nose or round belly. Defeated, Pip returns home, only to discover that his three sisters have built a successful business of their own. The ending is too abrupt, but Hershenhorn tells a spirited story about an unusual subject in appealing, colloquial language. Lloyd's lovely illustrations extend the sense of time and place and add humor in the details. Delicate egg-tempera pictures, representing Pip's work, blend with lively color illustrations depicting Pip and his subjects, set against landscapes that catch the feeling of nineteenth-century American painting. Notes provide more background on limners and their art. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
See all Editorial Reviews
Grade 1-4-In 1841, orphaned Pip tries to earn a living as a limner, or itinerant painter, in order to keep his three sisters from the poorhouse. As he and his dog wander through the Pennsylvania countryside, the boy offers to paint portraits of family members, pets, and shopkeepers. As the year goes by, he continues to send messages to his sisters, promising that they will have their own home by Christmas. However, the folksy realism of his portraits captures every fault and blemish of his subjects and doesn't bring in much business and he returns home without money. When he is finally reunited with his sisters, he is astonished to find that they have spent the time making crafts and wreaths and opened a shop that will keep the family self-sufficient and together. The little-known craft of the limner is an intriguing bit of history. Hershenhorn tells an interesting tale but the narrative is somewhat stilted and episodic. Lloyd's illustrations take two forms; Pip's story is told with simple lines and colors in stylized sketches nicely balanced with the text while the passing seasons are portrayed in beautifully detailed egg tempera landscapes glowing with color and charm. An artist's note explains the complicated process of how they were done. While this is not a first purchase, it would be fine supplemental material for history units as well as art classes. Fascinating but limited.
Beth Tegart, Oneida City Schools, NY
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
K-Gr. 3. In the mid-nineteenth century, before photography, Americans commissioned portrait painters called "limners" to create lasting images of loved ones. Hershenhorn's latest is an illustrated tribute to those anonymous, wandering artists. When his limner father dies, young Pip Biddle leaves his three sisters at home and hits the road, hoping to try his hand at portrait painting. He soon discovers that no one wants a true likeness, one that reveals the subject's hooked nose or round belly. Defeated, Pip returns home, only to discover that his three sisters have built a successful business of their own. The ending is too abrupt, but Hershenhorn tells a spirited story about an unusual subject in appealing, colloquial language. Lloyd's lovely illustrations extend the sense of time and place and add humor in the details. Delicate egg-tempera pictures, representing Pip's work, blend with lively color illustrations depicting Pip and his subjects, set against landscapes that catch the feeling of nineteenth-century American painting. Notes provide more background on limners and their art. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
See all Editorial Reviews
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cite this book:
- Authors in the Kitchen: Recipes, Stories, and More by Sharron L. McElmeel on page 116
- How to Write a Children's Book and Get It Published by Barbara Seuling in Back Matter