Musnet 4: The Tears of the Painter

Musnet #4

by Kickliy

As snow and ice chill Monet's garden, even colder things await Musnet this winter season. Mya, Musnet's best friend, gets her own adventure. Chiby, the Japanese spider, gets in a tangle with a certain muscular rat. Is there even any room left for our vagabond mouse? Drama, action, adventure, abound in the final volume of the award nominated series.

Genres: Art, Graphic Novels, Comics, Middle Grade

54 pages, Hardcover

First published June 9, 2017

Reviews

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very odd little book that I am just discovering now is part 4 of a series.
Squirrels, mice, a spider, rats, frogs, cats are working as starving and suffering artists writers & or just living their strange anthropomorphic lives somewhere in the French countryside. A different sort of story done in graphic novel format. Danger, despair, friendship, holiday celebration, family - it's in there!

[France Fournier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh que ce tome est touchant! Il aborde le deuil d'une façon très douce. Je n'ai pas d'autre mot pour cette bande dessinée.

[Kellee Moye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review of the series including teaching tools: http://www.unleashingreaders.com/?p=1...

After I read book one of this series, I could not wait to share it with everyone I talked to: “I love when books include art history in them because it makes me feel at home since I grew up in art museums as a museum director’s daughter. Musnet is no different. As soon as I realized that Musnet had ended up in Monet’s famous garden, I was fascinated with Musnet’s story and his journey to becoming an artist. Kickliy’s artwork pays perfect homage to Monet’s work and is a beautiful backdrop to Musnet’s story.” And I was really excited to read the rest of the books in the series.

Luckily they did not disappoint! Book one was just an introduction to the characters who continued to mature throughout the arc of the story. Musnet’s situation fluctuates causing the reader to quickly move from relief to panic which ensures the reader wants to keep going through the series. Although the series begins with Musnet just looking for a home, it ends with Musnet looking for what life has in store for him as an artist.

But what makes this series even more unique is the level of graphics. Kickliy’s ink, watercolor, and oil illustrations are reminiscent of the period in which Monet lived–it is like reading art. Kickliy even paints little oil paintings for the book for whenever a Musnet or Monet work is shown.