The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau

Starred review from June 18, 2012
“Henri Rousseau wants to be an artist. Not a single person has ever told him he is talented. He’s a toll collector. He’s forty years old. But he buys some canvas, paint, and brushes, and starts painting anyway.” Markel’s account of Rousseau’s humility and amateur passion for art strikes just the right tone—it’s jaunty, confiding,
and affectionate. Hall’s (Tales from India) acrylic and watercolor paintings celebrate Rousseau’s style without parodying it or dumbing it down. She alternates between spreads of the painter at work in the wild jungles of his own imagination—flying through the air in excitement as he discovers images that inspire him—and paintings of the modest surroundings in which he lives and the dour critics who sit in judgment of him. Markel (Tyrannosaurus Math) describes Rousseau’s poverty, generosity, freedom of spirit, and—finally—the recognition he achieves. It’s a story about a painter who isn’t driven by an enormous ego or a Promethean will but the simple love of color and form in nature—a love that Hall excels at expressing. Ages 5–9. Agent: Anna Olswanger, Liza Dawson Associates.

Starred review from September 1, 2012

PreS-Gr 3-Drawing on the naive techniques found in the paintings of the 19th-century French toll collector, Hall depicts Rousseau's life while introducing his style and subject matter in her fanciful watercolor and acrylic scenes. Markel's well-chosen episodes begin with the purchase of his first paints and brushes-at age 40. Compact sentences convey this self-taught artist's rocky journey, leaving room for Hall's interpretation. One dynamic composition propels Rousseau, clad in black, toward readers; one eye is enlarged behind a magnifying glass as he studies and scatters colorful postcards, catalogs, and paintings from the Louvre. Humor is conveyed even when his art is being rejected by the Salon experts. As the tiny man wheels his cart of canvases up to imposing, bewhiskered figures in tuxedos, close inspection reveals that some are monkeys. An author's note highlights Rousseau's reaction to the exotic plants at the Jardin des Plantes: ."..it's as though he enters into a dream. It's like he is someone else completely." Hall's portrait accompanying that idea in the narrative is formed from greenery, flowers, and wheat-part Rousseau, part Arcimboldo. The 1889 International Exhibition also opened the artist's world; afterward, his jungle canvases came to life, and a tiger crawled into his studio. Ultimately, he was feted by luminaries identified in the illustrator's note. This is not only a visually exciting introduction to a well-known artist, but also an uplifting model of passion and perseverance. Pair it with Doris Kutschbach's Henri Rousseau's Jungle Book (Prestel, 2005) for a slightly different perspective.-Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 15, 2012
A charming, affecting picture-book life of France's most celebrated naive painter--Henri Rousseau. Around 1884, when he was in his 40s, Rousseau determined that he needed to transcend his life as a customs officer and began to recreate himself as an artist. Though he had no formal training and few financial resources, he persevered and created countless canvases that showcased his unique, almost magical personal visions, visions that continue to resonate with young and old alike. Rousseau was ridiculed repeatedly by critics and artists, yet he continued to create his exotic, seemingly unsophisticated paintings. His lush tropical scenes were fueled by visits to the botanic gardens; his exotic animals were inspired by visits to the zoo. Though he remained a perpetual outsider, the Parisian avant-garde eventually embraced the visionary Rousseau, honoring him at a 1908 banquet (organized by Picasso himself). Markel's simple, poetic text ("tropical plants fruit and flower into garlands, rockets, and rosettes of color") is matched with Hall's vivid, venturesome illustrations. The bright watercolor-and-acrylic paintings have an impressive vitality and wonderfully channel Rosseau's fantastic motifs and his characteristic use of flattened shapes and perspectives. This lovely, child-friendly biography evokes and celebrates this fabulous naif. (author and illustrator notes) (Picture book/biography. 5-9)

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Starred review from September 15, 2012
Grades K-3 *Starred Review* The career of artist Henri Rousseau gets a wonderfully child-friendly treatment in a book that captures both his personality and the essence of his pictures. Forty-year-old toll collector Henri Rousseau wants to be an artist, despite the fact that not a single person has ever told him he is talented. Yet obstacles don't stand in his way. Nature is his muse and observation is his teacher. An excited Rousseau waits to hear what the critics say after his first exhibit. It's nothing good. Still, he continues turning out lush paintings filled with flora and fauna, and the critics continue panning him. But other, younger, artists are taking notice; by the end of his life, Rousseau is starting to be recognized as a master. Even though the main character is a middle-aged man, children will be drawn to the story of someone whom no one believes in becoming a star anyway. Markel's text has a sweetness and simplicity that allows children to understand the story's underpinnings, giving them someone to root for. Initially, though, they'll be drawn by Hall's rich pictures, sometimes offered with a sly wink, which are a credible homage to Rousseau's naive style. Kids will get a sense of the colors and vibrancy of the originals as well as their strength. While it would have been nice to see reproductions of Rousseau's originals in the book, this exciting introduction should lead children to seek them out.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2013
Markel's informative text conveys self-taught modern artist Henri Rousseau's groundbreaking flat perspective, inspiration by faraway lands, and determined personality, as well as interesting details such as his place in a circle of Modernist artists and writers. Hall's lush watercolor and acrylic art bears a clear resemblance to Rousseau's. This successful tribute makes Rousseau accessible, and inspirational, to a young audience.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2012
The career of Henri Rousseau, one of the great self-taught modern artists, began at age forty, when he was an impoverished Parisian toll collector. Markel starts her story here and goes on to present Rousseau as a lover of nature, a dreamer, a painter relentless in the pursuit of his art, and, above all, underappreciated during his lifetime. The sometimes straightforward, sometimes flowery text ( the trees spread their arms, and the sun is a blushing ruby, all for him ) is consistently informative, conveying his groundbreaking flat perspective, his inspiration by the plants and animals of faraway lands, and his determined personality, as well as interesting details of his life, such as his eventual place in a circle of Modernist artists and writers. Appended are an author's note and an illustrator's note, which includes keys to two of the book's illustrations that will assist readers in identifying some of Rousseau's contemporaries (Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque). Though she takes many liberties in scale and perspective, Hall's lush watercolor and acrylic art bears a clear resemblance to Rousseau's, especially his characteristic jungle scenes -- as she explains in her illustrator's note, she sometimes literally worked atop reproductions of his paintings, altering them playfully. This successful tribute makes Rousseau -- an artist so visionary that he was sometimes startled by what he paints -- accessible, and inspirational, to a young audience. katrina hedeen

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)