Renowned author-illustrator Marcus Pfister takes us into the world of art as he experiences and creates it. He has crafted a rhyming text that introduces us to his paintbrush and tells us, “Its talents simply have no end.” He calls out different types of paints he might use: oil, gouache, watercolor, acrylic, “- but digital? No! It’ll only work in my hand.” Different characters from his various books illustrate the pages of this exploration.
The back matter begins with a note from the author welcoming readers into his studio. A retrospective of his work is shown on several spreads as framed pictures hanging in a gallery. Information is posted on the wall near each piece. Info includes the name of the book where the image comes from, a note on the medium, a brief discussion of technique and the effect he hoped to achieve, and a short comment about the character or the story.
While most of the illustrations show variety due to the type of paints used, some of the books also featured experimentation with things other than just the paints. For example, he has also used foil stamping (the Milo books), pop-up (The Friendly Monsters), die cuts (Where Is My Friend?), and folding techniques (Magic Book). Fans of his work will feel as if they are enjoying a one-man art exhibition as they flip through pages of Rainbow Fish, Penguin Pete, and Hopper.
This makes a wonderful addition for someone who already has the other books or for elementary school library and classroom collections. It would be a wonderful book to keep in an art classroom and pull out to show students how much range paints and a paintbrush actually have. It would also work well as part of an author study. In whatever setting a reader finds it, the author offers this wish: “I’ll be delighted if all this inspires your own creative spirit.”
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