Snail Trail: In Search of a Modern Masterpiece

by Jo Saxton

Overview

A colourful snail asks you to help him look for his favourite painting. Follow his silver trail through a selection of famous modern paintings by an exciting range of modern artists including Pollock, Rothko, Mondrian, Dali, Picasso and Matisse in search of a piece of art that represents him. Paintings reproduced in the book: Pablo Picasso, Maya in a Sailor Suit, 1938, MOMA. Barnett Newman, Abraham, 1949, MOMA. Jackson Pollock, Number 20, 1949, Private Collection/James Goodman Gallery, New York. Mark Rothko, White Centre, 1950, Private Collection. Salvador Dali, The Persistence of Memory, 1931, MOMA. Ben Nicholson, 1940-42 (two forms), Southampton City Art Gallery, Hampshire. Henri Matisse, The Snail, 1953, Tate Modern. Henri Matisse, Goldfish (Red Fish), 1911, Pushkin Museum of Fine Art, Moscow.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781847804235
Publisher:	Frances Lincoln Children's Books
Publication date:	06/10/2014
Edition description:	First Trade Paper Edition
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Jo Saxton fell in love with great paintings when she first went to the National Gallery at the age of 12. Since then, she has become a professional art historian, gaining a Ph.D. in 17th-century Dutch painting and drawing, and is an expert on art and education for school-age children. Jo has worked for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Cambridge University, inner-city state schools and academies, and has also advised government.

Read an Excerpt

[spread 1]

There’s a special picture I’d like you to see.

A famous artist based it on me!



Turn the pages of my book

and I will teach you how to look.



[spread 2]

This picture’s tall, but it’s too black.

My portrait doesn’t look like that.



[spread 3]

Here are drips as well as drops.

My picture, though, is built of blocks.

Editorial Reviews

‘accessible and appealing’

‘A colourful and inspiring introduction to modern art for children.’

’A witty rhyming introduction to modern art for young children. . . The book is a delight, with something to offer all age groups from around three onwards.’

 ‘accessible and appealing’

‘A colourful and inspiring introduction to modern art for children.’

 ‘A good book for discussing art with older nursery children.’

 ‘Brightly illustrated . . . A wonderful, manageable read for any budding artists.’

’A witty rhyming introduction to modern art for young children. . . The book is a delight, with something to offer all age groups from around three onwards.’

From the Publisher

PreS-Gr 1—A snail with a colorful collage shell invites readers to follow him in search of a work of art: "There's a special picture I'd like you to see./A famous artist based it on me!" A silver trail leads the eye from page to page, past famous modernist pieces like Jackson Pollock's Number 20 and Salvador Dali's The Persistence of Memory, with the snail commenting very briefly on each one. At last they come to Matisse's The Snail, and the little guy explains how this abstract piece is meant to resemble him: "He's made my body a block of blue,/with my shell a ebook of every hue." A final page shows a photo of the artist at work. While this whirlwind tour of modern art may be useful to teachers or docents working with young children, it does not stand alone. Without adult intervention, the story's complete lack of context results in nothing but a succession of pretty images. The pedestrian rhymes offer little in the way of art appreciation. Picture credits in tiny print inside the back cover provide the only identification for the famous works. In addition, the author undermines the very nature of Matisse's abstract Snail by suggesting that he modeled it directly upon an actual multicolored snail. Pass on this one.—Heidi Estrin, Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton, FL

School Library Journal

An affable snail tours fine-art masterpieces, inviting readers to discern which painting's based on him. He's dark blue (googly eyes atop antennae), with a shell of multihued, multisized cut-felt blocks. Those colored blocks subtly change shape and position as pages turn, but the shell's overall visual impression is steady. Each spread features one painting for comparison: Which is the snail's likeness? About Jackson Pollock's Number 20, the snail observes, "Here there are drips as well as drops. My picture, though, is built of blocks." Next, Mark Rothko's White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose) is "Ah, much neater, that's for sure. But my picture's colours aren't mixed—they're pure." Henri Matisse's collage-painting The Snail is the answer; in two rhyming couplets, Saxton neatly reveals how Matisse's abstract piece is really a portrait. The Dalí verse scans awkwardly, but this misstep barely matters in this playful, refreshingly clear introduction of "how to look" at art. A kid-friendly Snail's Note (with photo) depicts Matisse collaging in his wheelchair. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews