Vincent Van Gogh: Sunflowers and Swirly Stars

Smart About Art

by Joan Holub

Brad explores the ups and downs of van Gogh's life and art in this colorful report, featuring Brad's funny cartoons alongside reproductions of classic paintings like Starry Night.

Genres: Art, Childrens, History, Picture Books, Biography, Nonfiction, Art History

32 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2001

About the author

NY Times bestselling children's book author:
GODDESS GIRLS series + HEROES IN TRAINING series (w Suzanne Williams); THIS LITTLE TRAILBLAZER a Girl Power Primer; ZERO THE HERO; I AM THE SHARK. Lucky to be doing what I love!

Reviews

[Debbie Wentworth Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a bright, colorful book about the life of Vincent Van Gogh for children. Written from the perspective of a child doing a report for school, it draws readers in by sounding as if a child is providing information about himself that relates to Van Gogh, including his self-portrait and a drawing of his bedroom. The illustrator draws some of Van Gogh's works also.

It is mostly an attractive and interesting book. Including material about Van Gogh's suicide made me feel a little queasy because I had a nine-year-old boy repeatedly discuss suicide a couple of years ago. I would be a little careful of who I had read this.

[Karen Arnold · Rating 5 out of 5]

this entire series of Smart About Art books is a fabulous way to introduce kids to famous artists. They are written in the form of kids class reports about the artists and hit the highlights, show some samples of their works and got my kids interested in the great artists of our times.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used this book to read to a group of children during a library summer reading event. It was a big hit! Afterward, we painted our own starry nights on switch plates, complete with a little glow-in-the-dark magic!

[M.M. Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very different book than I have read previously from this author. This comes from a series of books about artist. The book is written like a book report that a child would give which was interesting in itself. It was also written in first person as the "child" sees van Gogh.

I liked that the book gave a thorough view at the artist life from the time he was born to the time of his death. One page even showed the artist as a young boy. The book mentioned his brother and how he got along with this sibling. Kids could compare their own relationships with their own siblings.

I also like the book pulled no punches when it came to van Gogh being poor or even how he so tragically died. These things are important truths for this artist and give accurate portrayal for children. I do caution reading this book to a younger child as this may be difficult for a younger child to grasp. Older children just might have questions that can easily be discussed.

The illustrations were cute and fantastic at the same time. The "book report" illustrations were done in crayons drawings with cartoon like characters but this was juxtaposed with the real life paintings of the artist.

Overall, I liked this book and gets an "A" from me which equal out to be 5 stars.

Disclosure: I was given a copy of this book for my open and honest opinion the views expressed here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~Naila Moon

[Caitlyn Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smart About Art is a great series about artists; each book in the series is written as if by a student writing a research report. Good for grades 1-4. Works well in my 2nd grade class.
All are filled with facts, photos of the artist's work, and quirky fun humor. Favorites in the series:
Vincent van Gogh Sunflowers and Swirly Stars by Holub
Edgar Degas Paintings that Dance by Cocca-Leffler
Henry Matisse Painting with Scissors by O'Connor

[A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the books I wish I had when I was little. It speaks to the mind and soul of the young reader. Books like this one makes learning fun and effective.

I think I'll buy the rest of the series.

April 29, 2010

I just finished reading for the second time, and it's still my fav. book about VG.

[Lekeshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

My littles were intrigued. We are now studying some of van Gogh's work. My son said he will no longer be sad when his creations aren't perfect. His favorite was the painting, The Bedroom while my daughter's was Starry Night. My daughter said she likes to draw with swirls too. My son likes how realistic the paintings look.

[Meredith Leach · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to Van Gogh. Witty, wonderful humor!

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun format to in which to present a biography! I learned a lot.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book to my children after we spent some time studying the art work of Vincent van Gogh. I am glad that we read it AFTER they had already experienced some of his art and formed their own opinions about what they liked and didn't like. To me there was something kind of weird about this book, and I can't quite explain what other than it just seemed a little bit "off" somehow. It is written from the point of view of a fifth grader who has studied different artists and was then asked to write a book report. It is colorful with some cute pictures and additional drawings that make it an interesting read. There is also a lot of information about the artist and some small prints of some of his paintings. Even I learned some things about van Gogh that I never knew. And my two older children said that they enjoyed it and want to continue reading books in this series. I think we will try Smart About Claude Monet: Sunshine and Waterlilies and see if my opinion of this series improves.

[Mercedes Riley · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I enjoyed reading the book with my dd, I did not enjoy the sudden mention of Van Gogh's suicide by gunshot! I yanked the book out of my YOUNG dd's hands and had to explain to her what happened. I do not recommend this book for the grade level that it aims at. The AR level is 3.1. A third grade level. I recommend including MENTAL HEALTH and SUICIDE as sub categories.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful addition to any elementary or middle school art class or library discussing the troubled life of Vincent Van Gogh. I think 5th graders would benefit the most from this read since that is the year that they typically do their first biography reports; this is told in a biography report fashion.

[Missy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series! Both of my young boys were drawn in to the story of van Gogh's life and art--lively cartoons along with the text always help. After we finished, they began recognizing van Gogh's prints around.

[Avery · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned lots of things about Vincent Van Gogh. The part I thought was weird was the part about him cutting off his ear. I liked it because it was about an artist and I like artists. I learned new ways of painting.

[Mckinley · Rating 4 out of 5]

V makes me think of my mother who is largely responsible for my understanding and love of art. V is one of her favorites.

[Hope L. Justice · Rating 3 out of 5]

The layout is incredibly distracting.

[Sandra Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice book for elementary children. It was a huge hit When I read this during art classes. It's a great introductory book about one of the world's greatest artist!

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

an analysis of the pictures and meaningsbehind th pictures from a childs point of view.