Max Makes a Million

by Maira Kalman

Overview

Max’s dream is to live in Paris and be a poet—even though no one will buy his poems and he is penniless. But living in New York City isn’t so bad. Where else could he have friends like Bruno, who paints invisible pictures, or Marcello, who builds upside-down houses?

Max Makes a Million is a fun, jazzy tale filled with Maira Kalman’s signature bright and imaginative illustrations. Children will delight in the rhythm and sound of her poetic sentences read out loud, and root for Max the dog as he follows his bigcity dreams.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681371719
Publisher:	New York Review Books
Publication date:	09/12/2017
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	48
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Maira Kalman is an illustrator, author, and designer. She has created many covers for The New Yorker, including the famous map of Newyorkistan (with Rick Meyerowitz). Kalman is the author of twelve children’s books, including five books about Max the dog, which will be reissued by The New York Review Children's Collection: Hey Willy, See the Pyramids and Max Makes a Million (September 2017); Ooh-la-la (Max in Love) and Max in Hollywood, Baby (February 2018); and Swami on Rye (September 2018). She also has designed fabric for Isaac Mizrahi, accessories for Kate Spade, sets for the Mark Morris Dance Company, and, with her late husband, Tibor Kalman, under the M&Co. label, clocks, umbrellas, and other accessories for the Museum of Modern Art. Her work is shown at the Julie Saul Gallery in Manhattan.

Hometown:

New York, New York

Date of Birth:

November 15, 1949

Place of Birth:

Tel Aviv, Israel

Education:

New York University, 1967-70

Website:

http://www.MairaKalman.com

Editorial Reviews

In this bohemian celebration, Max the dog, the poet, the dreamer, is back. His struggle for acceptance since Hey Willy, See the Pyramids has not been easy--Max has had to post his poems on a wall at the corner of Pastrami and Salami Streets for his fellow New Yorkers to see. Even as he pines for Paris, Max admits that New York City is fine by him: `` . . . a jumping, jazzy city, a shimmering, stimmering triple-decker sandwich kind of city.'' In this unique blend of reality and fantasy, intermingled words and images seem influenced by such strange sources as Mamie Eisenhower's wardrobe, the Jazz Age and the Theatre of the Absurd. Banter that rings with sophistication is well matched by the esoteric illustrative approach readers have come to expect from Kalman. Although there is much to glean from an unhurried single reading, this fanciful creation yields its greatest treasures through repeated visits. All ages. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 1-3-- First introduced in Hey Willy, See the Pyramids (Viking, 1988), Max, the poet dog who wants to live in Paris, is trying to make his dream come true while living in ``that crazy quivering wondering wild city''--New York. His friends include Bruno, an artist who paints invisible paintings; the mysterious twins Otto and Otto; and Marcello, a waiter/architect who designs upside-down houses. Kalman introduces readers to Max' world with a text that jumps around the pages and forms itself into shapes such as the Eiffel Tower, the Guggenheim Museum, curves, or zigzags. The words themselves have the exuberant rhythm of nonsense verse and are best appreciated when read aloud. With references to pompadours, the theory of gravity, soirees, and canapes, it's clear that few young children will be able to read and understand this picture book by themselves. Kalman's wit will be best appreciated by adults, who may or may not be able to explain it to their kids. The illustrations feature wild, brightly colored modern art full of elongated fantasy figures. Chagall and Picasso have influenced her use of unexpected colors (green faces, blue hair) and method of outlining the features of her characters. The style is similar to her earlier works, but is more sophisticated and inventive. The book's strangeness will not appeal to everyone, but its message about following one's dreams at all costs is thoughtfully and imaginatively presented. --Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, County of Henrico Public Library--Fairfield Area Library, Richmond, VA

School Library Journal

The sarcastic wit, absurd non-sequiturs and eclectic diversions, not to mention the naïve drawing and painting style of this and later books, particularly appealed...Maira helped found a new genre of picture books that employed kinetic type composition as an expressive means of marrying word and image...Maira’s major protagonist, a dog named Max, became an instant classic, winning children’s hearts and book awards.” —Eye Magazine

"Kalman’s verbal inventiveness, her mastery of a simple yet poetic language that children can love, her inexhaustibly original illustrations, rich with women with unlikely hairdos, men with beards that reach the floor, and upside down houses, keep a child enchanted through countless readings." —Mitch Abidor, Jewish Currents

"In this unique blend of reality and fantasy, intermingled words and images seem influenced by such strange sources as Mamie Eisenhower’s wardrobe, the Jazz Age and the Theatre of the Absurd. Banter that rings with sophistication is well matched by the esoteric illustrative approach readers have come to expect from Kalman. Although there is much to glean from an unhurried single reading, this fanciful creation yields its greatest treasures through repeated visits." —Publishers Weekly

"This whimsical extravaganza—clever and urbane—celebrates New York’s wildly varied cosmopolitans while recounting how the hero, who is a dog and a poet, finally gets a publisher and will be able to realize his dream of going to Paris. Accompanied by witty illustrations that make sly references to other artists." —Kirkus Reviews

"Every now and then, a character in literature exerts a kind of magnetic field on the reader. The force of his or her personality, speaking in a fully individualized voice, grabs us like a carnival barker and just won’t let go. Holden Caulfield had that effect on a generation; Augie March came close; there have been a few others as well, but their voices aren’t necessarily limited to ‘grown up books.’ Especially now that Max, dreamer, dog, poet, has had his say." —Booklist

"Maira Kalman’s marvelously inventive gifts really shine in the picture-book format. I’ve long felt that her artwork, with its playful use of color and perspective, provides kids with a fantastic organic introduction to the manifold varieties of art." —Lisa Pliscou, author of Dude

From the Publisher