In 234 words, Patricia MacLachlan tells the story of how young Henri Matisse became the master painter of color and light and movement.

Growing up in gray northern France, near the border with Belgium, Henri’s mother Anna Heloise brightened his world with color. She painted porcelain plates with scenes of nature. The plates hung on the walls of their house along with vivid red rugs that also covered a dirt floor. And Henri watched the colors of his pigeon’s feathers shimmer — “iridescence” his mother told him.

In The Iridescence of Birds: A Book About Henri Matisse, Patricia MacLachlan draws a child in by using the second person point of view and asking “ if you” questions, until the child knows, that if you had grown up in Henri Matisse’s world, then you would become a painter, too.

 The Iridescence of Birds: A Book About Henri Matisse 

Back Cover Illustrated by Hadley Hooper

Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse attended law school, passed the bar exam, and with his father’s help found a position as a law clerk — although he did not enjoy practicing law. But everything changed when Henri became ill with appendicitis. While recovering, his mother gave him paints and supplies. It was then that Henri knew he would spend the rest of his life as an artist.            

If you like this post, then please consider sharing it and/or leaving a comment below. Thank you! Barbara Lowell, Children’s Author

To Learn More Visit: http://www.henri-matisse.net/biography.html

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