Pocket Bios: Vincent van Gogh

Pocket Bios

by Al Berenger

A colorfully illustrated, pocket-size picture book biography of famed artist Vincent van Gogh.

Vincent van Gogh, one of the most important figures in Western art, is renowned for his Post-Impressionist paintings. Though he was extraordinarily prolific, producing 2,100 artworks in his lifetime, he was only posthumously recognized as an artistic genius. Many people saw him as a madman, and he is famous for having severed part of his own left ear. His tortured life is just as captivating as his artworks, which went on to achieve widespread success.

Pocket Bios are full of personality, introducing readers to fascinating figures from history with simple storytelling and cheerful illustrations. Titles include men and women from history, exploration, the sciences, the arts, the ancient world, and more.

Genres: Biography, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Education, Art

32 pages, Hardcover

Published March 19, 2019

Reviews

[Moonkiszt]

Featured in a grandma reads session.

This series of books takes themselves very seriously, and do a pretty good job presenting the bare facts of their featured subject's life and times.

We started with this one, in our consideration of Vincent van Gogh, and appreciated the tone and highlights covered. It was rather stiff and dry, but was a sufficient diving board for the rest of our reads.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book*]

Pocket Bios: Vincent van Gogh by Patricia Crete. PICTURE BOOK/NON-FICTION Roaring Brook Press, 2015. $15. 9781250168863

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL – ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

When Vincent was little he loved to draw. As he grew older, he went to Paris with his uncle who was an art dealer, but Vincent didn’t love being an art dealer, so he became a preacher like his father. While Vincent was a preacher, he spoke out against horribly mining conditions and was fired, so he found a new career as an artist. While Vincent was alive his art wasn’t appreciated, regardless of his brother Theo’s efforts. Today, however, Vincent’s art is famous around the world.

How fun to read about a well-loved artist and how his art came to be. I love this little biography that shows the major life events of Vincent and the end includes people who influenced his life as well as a timeline. I think because these books are so little, readers will be drawn to them because of their cute size.

Reviewer, C. Peterson
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...

[Barbara]

Incredibly talented artist Vincent van Gogh didn't achieve fame until after his death. This Pocket Bio describes his life and times and his often unhappy existence as well as his artwork and connection to his younger brother. Not only does the book cover his early years, but his last days, including the confusion over the wounds that led to his death. The book contains a timeline showing the important events in his life, a map featuring six significant places, snippets of four individuals whose lives intersected with him, and four additional interesting facts about him. I was pleased to see this artist's bio added to this series, ideal for introducing youngsters to individuals who were ground-breakers in various ways. The information contained here is easy to read and easy to digest and might spur additional conversations between readers and the adults in their lives.

[Amanda]

Vincent van Gogh was an artist from the Netherlands. He was born in 1853 and had six brothers and sisters. Vincent loved to draw and paint. His brother Theo tried to sell some of his paintings, but he didn’t have any luck. Eventually, Vincent’s mental health began failing. He ended up in a psychiatric hospital for a while, and then he was sent to live under the care of a physician. Through all this, Vincent continued to paint. It wouldn’t be until many years after his death that Vincent van Gogh’s art would become world famous.

In just a few pages, this charming book gives a great overview on the life of Vincent van Gogh. Every other page has a heading with a few short paragraphs, and the opposite page has an illustration. The story would be easy for young children to understand; however, the book does not leave out the fact that due to Vincent’s mental health he cut off his own ear and most likely ended his own life. Both events might be content better suited for older readers. The illustrations are cute and support the text well. At the end of the book, there is timeline of Vincent’s life and a map of places in his story. There are also illustrations and descriptions of significant people to him and a list of quick “did you know” facts.

++Review originally published on Children's Book and Media Review++
http://byucbmr.com/reviews/pocket-bio...

[Erika]

I enjoyed this book! It was such a simple and quick read, but I learned new things about Vincent van Gogh. There was a good amount of information even though the amount of text on each page was condensed. The pictures are enjoyable to look at too! This is a great book to have in the classroom as an easy read to learn a little bit about Vincent van Gogh!

[Kristin Nelson]

Short little book giving details of Van Gogh's life. I was surprised that his works weren't pictured in the book. Only a few were mentioned, but you'd think a bio of an artist would include reproductions of his art.