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Discusses the life and work of French post-impressionist artist Henri Matisse

32 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1997

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Mike Venezia

162 books62 followers

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5 stars
38 (36%)
4 stars
33 (31%)
3 stars
24 (22%)
2 stars
9 (8%)
1 star
1 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for Shareena.
85 reviews
November 1, 2010
This book shows real pieces of artwork from that time period created by Henri Matisse. It also has cartoons throughout the reading about how Mr.Matisse might have began to create his artwork and how he might've brainstormed before creating his art pieces.

Caution: This book contains some inappropriate artwork that you may not want to expose younger students to.

Activity: Students could create their own comic strips about a historical figure like the book did.
96 reviews10 followers
December 7, 2009
He cuts papers sometimes.He made special paintings.
Profile Image for Ammie.
981 reviews
January 14, 2020
Included a few more nudes than were needed to convey Matisse's talent.
Profile Image for Denise Spicer.
Author 18 books70 followers
October 31, 2018
As one of the “Getting To Know The World’s Greatest Artists” series, this 32 page kids’ book contains a brief bio of Matisse and showcases a few of his famous paintings. The author also illustrates the short text with his own comic book style drawings of Matisse’s life. There is only one photograph of the artist in old age posing in his chapel in France. The book features only his early work and would have benefitted by including later works and perhaps at least one photo of the artist as a young man.
5 reviews
January 15, 2024
Very good introduction and overview of Matisse, I ordered it thinking it was a different book, but was still suprised by the amount of foundational information that was found in the book! It has a really good overview of his most well-known paintings and influences. Would absolutely recommend for a beginner or children learning about art.
Profile Image for Christy.
Author 15 books67 followers
March 25, 2020
Clever illustrations and story lines, together with full-color reproductions of actual paintings, give children a light yet realistic overview of each artist's life and style in these fun and educational books.
546 reviews
May 25, 2018
Wonderful for upper elementary students. They love the cute cartoon graphics. Excellent for teaching art history!
Profile Image for Crystal M.
378 reviews
Read
December 5, 2025
Some artworks mentioned in the text were accompanied by paintings that didn’t match, which was confusing and disappointing. Overall a good young reader biography.
15 reviews
February 27, 2015
Nonfiction/Twin Text Entry #2

As an art education major I absolutely love when I can find art history books that are geared towards students at a primary level. This book is mostly pictures of his artwork but also tells the story of his life in an interesting way without just telling facts. The book flows extremely well and his work is work that will catch the eye of students because it is bright and colorful. It is also an artist that a lot of students haven't heard of at that age. I think it is important to discuss artists besides Van Gogh and Picasso and Mike Venezia does a great job of making these books for lesser known but still important artists.

I paired this book with a classic and a book that I remember, I know it is important to find newer books but this is such a great book for kids and such a fantastic fiction book about creativity. The fiction book that I chose was Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson. It is about a boy that has the power to draw the world around him simply by using his crayon. I think these two pair wonderfully together because they both are about thinking outside of the box. They are about using your creativity to create something that is uniquely your own.
Profile Image for Shelli.
5,168 reviews57 followers
September 28, 2015
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists, Henri Matisse is another nice edition in this fantastic collection by Mike Venezia. These books are perfect for exposing elementary and junior high aged students to a large variety of artists and styles of art in a memorable way.
Profile Image for Shannon.
2,135 reviews63 followers
May 7, 2012
Pretty comprehensive overview of all the different directions Matisse's life took as an aritst. Fit in perfectly with our study of the different art styles of David Hockney.
Profile Image for Shannon.
961 reviews4 followers
March 18, 2016
04/11: His books on artists are always fun. The boys love the cartoons scattered throughout.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews

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