A Rep Reading

Part of the picture book artist biography series from Abrams Books for Children, Claude Monet: The Painter Who Stopped the Trains, tells of the episode in Monet's life where he went from a ridiculed artist, to a critically recognized and financially successful painter. Following the passion of his son's interest in trains, Monet paints a series of scenes from the Saint-Lazare train station in Paris. His depictions of light through the steam and smoke of the train engines, were a turning point of his career. An excellent introduction to a master of the art world for younger children. Appropriately, there is an extensive artist's note in the back matter, with interesting information from the illustrator about how he went about his illustrations for the book. In an author's note, there is an explanation of the use of facts from Monet's life and the liberal license used to create this story. Also included, is a list of museums in the US and Canada that have works of Monet, and a select bibliography and index.