Book Review: Art and Max by David Wiesner

Book: Art and Max
Author: David Wiesner
Illustrator: David Wiesner
Published: 2010
Source: Local Library

Art is a very serious painter, and when pesky Max wants to paint too, his agreement is reluctant in the extreme. His doubts prove well-founded when Max doesn’t paint exactly the way Art thinks he should. But the little lizard's exuberance sets off an artistic free-for-all that will change more than Art’s mind.

Oh, like you haven’t heard about this one. It is David Wiesner, after all. But besides the brain-bending storyline that falls in line with his other reality-optional classics, there’s a real sibling vibe about Art and Max. Any kid reading is gong to identify with either the serious and rather pompous older brother or with the bright and curious and not-a-little copy-cat younger brother, or maybe both.

I tried this out in a storytime with school-age kids, and they were fascinated with the storyline and the bickering characters. This is a group that demonstrates their enjoyment of a book by reading it themselves afterwards, and I practically had to peel them off of Art and Max.