Vincent Can’t Sleep: Van Gogh Paints the Night Sky
By Barb Rosenstock, Illustrated by Mary Grand Pre
Vincent van Gogh often found himself unable to sleep and wandered under starlit skies. Those nighttime experiments provided the inspiration for many of his paintings, including his most famous, The Starry Night. Van Gogh sold only one painting in his lifetime, but he continued to pursue his unique vision and ultimately became one of the most beloved artists of all time. 4-8 years
Vincent’s Colors
By Vincent van Gogh and the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Vincent van Gogh is one of the world’s most famous artists. Throughout his life, he wrote to his younger brother, Theo, about his colorful, dynamic paintings. This book pairs the artists’s paintings with his own words. Van Gogh’s descriptions, arranged as a simple rhyme, introduces young readers to all the colors of the rainbow and beyond. The descriptive words combine with spectacular reproductions of many of the artist’s most beloved and important works to create a perfect art book. 5-8 years
Katie and the Starry Night
James Mayhew, Illustrated by Lee Wildish
Join Katie as she steps into one of the most famous paintings in the world for an exciting art adventure. The stars in Vincent van Gogh’s painting are so beautiful that Katie can’t resist reaching in and taking one. But what will she do when all the other stars come tumbling out of the painting, too? Will Katie be able to catch the stars before the gallery guard notices they’ve floated away? 5 and up
Van Gogh and the Sunflowers
By Laurence Anholt
Young Camille befriends a strange visitor to his small town. One day, he brings this man a gift of bright, beautiful sunflowers. The man is Vincent van Gogh and the sunflowers quickly become the subject of a magnificent painting. 6-9 years
In the Garden with Van Gogh
By Julie Merberg and Suzanne Bober
With a narrative that will entertain art lovers of all ages, this board book is a fun way to introduce young children to fine art. The sleepy trees, golden haystacks and juicy fruits will delight little ones. Playful rhyming text accompany the artist’s timeless paintings. 2-5 years
Portrait of an Artist Vincent van Gogh
By Lucy Brownridge, Illustrated by Edith Carron
Vincent van Gogh was born in the Netherlands and today is one of the world’s best-loved painters. But during his lifetime, Van Gogh struggled to find fame and fortune through his art, making very little money from his paintings, which now sell for millions of dollars.
This book tells the story of Van Gogh’s life through his own artworks, and shows how he came to create some of the most famous paintings in the world, including the Sunflowers and Starry Night. Learn about the importance of brotherly love, his struggle to find the right path and the lasting impact he had on the history of art in this book that brings his work to life. 5-7 years
Vincent van Gogh: Sunflowers and Swirly Stars
By Brad Bucks and Joan Holob
This book explores the ups and downs of van Gogh’s life and art which features Buck’s funny cartoons alongside reproductions of van Gogh’s classic paintings like The Starry Night. 5-9 years
Vincent van Gogh
By Mike Venezia
Vincent van Gogh provides an entertaining and humorous introduction to the famous artist, Vincent van Gogh. Full-color reproductions of the actual paintings are enhanced by Venezia’s illustrations and story line. With primary sources, maps, timelines, photos and illustrations, Venzia helps students learn about this notable artist. 7-10 years
Vincent Van Gogh: He Saw the World in Vibrant Colors
By Amy Guglielmo
See the world through Vincent van Gogh’s eyes and be inspired to produce your own masterpieces. Have you ever wondered exactly what your favorite artists were looking at to make them draw, sculpt, or paint the way they did? In this illustrated series, created in full collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, you can see what they saw, and be inspired to create your own artworks. In the pages of this book, step into Van Gogh’s life and learn what led him to paint his eye-catching self-portraits. See the landscapes that inspired his famous Wheat Fields. Have a go at painting your own sunflowers! 5-9 years
Vincent van Gogh: Portrait of an Artist
by Jan Greenberg and Sarah Jordan
Vincent van Gogh, one of the nineteenth century’s most brilliant artist will forever be remembered as the Dutchman who pioneered new techniques and styles and who, in a fit of passion, cut off his ear. Whether painting a portrait, landscape, or still life, van Gogh sought to capture the vibrant spirit of his subject. Still, fame eluded him. This lack of recognition over a career spanning a mere decade (from twenty-seven to thirty-seven) fueled his lifelong self-doubt and bitter disappointments. Today, van Gogh’s paintings are recognized as masterpieces and the artist as a giant. 10 and up
Vincent and Theo: The van Gogh Brothers
By Deborah Heilgman
The deep and enduring friendship between Vincent and Theo van Gogh shaped both brothers’ lives. Confidant, champion, sympathizer, friend, Theo supported Vincent as he struggled to find his path in life. They shared everything, successes and disappointments, dreams and ambitions. Meticulously researched, drawing on the 658 letters Vincent wrote to Theo during his lifetime, Deborah Heilgman weaves a tale of two lives intertwined and the extraordinary love of the Van Gogh brothers. Young Adult
Van Gogh and the Post-Impressionists for Kids
by Carol Sabbeth
Swirling, curling brushstrokes. Vivid colors. Thick layers of paint. These are the hallmarks of a painting by Vincent van Gogh. This book reveals a complex young man who loved nature and reading, spoke four languages and worked as a gallery salesman before finding his calling as an artist. 9 and up
The book descriptions are primarily from the publisher.
If you like this post, then please consider sharing it and/or leaving a comment below. Thank you! Barbara Lowell, Children’s Author
In this young graphic novel, Dounia, a grandmother, tells her granddaughter the story even her son has never heard: how, as a young Jewish girl in Paris, she was hidden away from the Nazis by a series of neighbors and friends who risked their lives to keep her alive when her parents had been taken to concentration camps. Hiddenends on a tender note, with Dounia and her mother rediscovering each other as World War II ends and as a young girl in present-day France becomes closer to her grandmother, who can finally tell her story. 6-10 years
Behind the Bookcase: Miep Gies, Anne Frank and the Hiding Place
By Barbara Lowell, Illustrated by Valentina Toro
Anne Frank’s diary is a gift to the world because of Miep Gies. One of the protectors of the Frank family, Miep recovered the diary after the family was discovered by Nazis, and then returned it to Otto Frank after World War II. Displaced from her own home as a child during World War I, Miep had great empathy for Anne, and she found ways―like talking about Hollywood gossip and fashion trends―to engage her. The story of their relationship―and the impending danger to the family in hiding―unfolds in this unique perspective of Anne Frank’s widely known story. 7 and up
Nicky & Vera: A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued
By Peter Sis
In December 1938, a young Englishman canceled a ski vacation and went instead to Prague to help the hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Nazis who were crowded into the city. Setting up a makeshift headquarters in his hotel room, Nicholas Winton took names and photographs from parents desperate to get their children out of danger. He raised money, found foster families in England, arranged travel and visas, and, when necessary, bribed officials and forged documents. In the frantic spring and summer of 1939, as the Nazi shadow fell over Europe, he organized the transportation of almost 700 children to safety.
Then, when the war began and no more children could be rescued, he put away his records and told no one. It was only fifty years later that a chance discovery and a famous television appearance brought Winton’s actions to light. 6-8 years
The Butterfly
By Patricia Polacco
Ever since the Nazis marched into Monique’s small French village, terrorizing it, nothing surprises her, until the night Monique encounters “the little ghost” sitting at the end of her bed. She turns out to be a girl named Sevrine, who has been hiding from the Nazis in Monique’s basement. Playing after dark, the two become friends, until, in a terrifying moment, they are discovered, sending both of their families into a nighttime flight. 6-9 years
Hold on to Your Music: The Inspiring True Story of the Children of Willesden Lane
By Mona Golabek and Lee Cohen, Illustrated by Sonia Possentini
In pre-World War II Vienna, Lisa Jura was a musical prodigy who dreamed of becoming a concert pianist. But when enemy forces threatened the city—particularly the Jewish people that lived there—Lisa’s parents were forced to make a difficult decision. They chose to send Lisa to London for safety through the Kindertransport—a rescue effort that relocated Jewish children. As Lisa yearned to be reunited with her family while living in a home for refugee children on Willesden Lane, her music became a beacon of hope for those around her. 4-8 years
Survivors of the Holocaust: True Stories of Six Extraordinary Children
By Kath Shackleton, Illustrated By Zane Whittingham
Between 1933 and 1945, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party were responsible for the persecution of millions of Jews across Europe. This graphic novel tells the true stories of six Jewish children who survived the Holocaust.
From suffering the horrors of Auschwitz, to hiding from Nazi soldiers in war-torn Paris, to sheltering from the Blitz in England, each true story is a powerful testament to the survivors’ courage. These remarkable testimonials serve as a reminder never to allow such a tragedy to happen again.
Features a current photograph of each contributor and an update about their lives, along with a glossary and timeline to support reader understanding of this period in world history. 10-14 years
The Whispering Town
By Jennifer Elvgren, Illustrated by Fabio Santomauro
The Whispering Town is the story of neighbors in a small Danish fishing village who, during the Holocaust, shelter a Jewish family waiting to be ferried to safety in Sweden. It is 1943 in Nazi-occupied Denmark. Anett and her parents are hiding a Jewish woman and her son, Carl, in their cellar until a fishing boat can take them across the sound to neutral Sweden. The soldiers patrolling their street are growing suspicious, so Carl and hismama must make their way to the harbor despite a cloudy sky with no moon to guide them. Worried about their safety, Anett devises a clever and unusual plan for their safe passage to the harbor. Based on a true story. 4-8 years
Stone Angel
By Jane Yolen, Illustrated by Katie May Green
The Nazis may have taken their home, but the family still has a guardian angel. A little girl and her family live happily in Paris until Nazi soldiers arrive during World War II. They must flee or risk being sent to a concentration camp. They run into the woods where they meet resistance fighters. But they’re still not safe. They must cross tall mountains and sail in a rickety boat to England. Yet the whole time they’re struggling to survive, the little girl thinks of the stone angel near their apartment in Paris and imagines it watches over her family. 5-8 years
What Was the Holocaust
By Gail Herman, Illustrated by Jerry Hoare
The Holocaust was a genocide on a scale never before seen, with as many as twelve million people killed in Nazi death camps—six million of them Jews. Gail Herman traces the rise of Hitler and the Nazis, whose rabid anti-Semitism led first to humiliating anti-Jewish laws, then to ghettos all over Eastern Europe, and ultimately to the Final Solution. She presents just enough information for an elementary-school audience in a readable, well-researched book that covers one of the most horrible times in history. 8-12 years
Benno and the Night of Broken Glass
By Meg Wiviott, Illustrated by Josee Bisaillon
A neighborhood cat observes the changes in German and Jewish families in its town during the period leading up to Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass that becomes the true beginning of the Holocaust. The cat’s view introduces the Holocaust to children in a gentle way. 3-8 years
Star of Fear, Star of Hope
By Jo Hoestlandt, Illustrated by Joanna Kang
Set in France, during the Nazi occupation of World War II, a gentile child named Helen recalls the mounting persecution of her Jewish friend. She wonders why does her best friend, Lydia, have to wear a yellow star? Why are people in hiding and using strange names? What is Lydia afraid of? Touching upon the Holocaust with sensitivity and poignancy, Star of Fear, Star of Hope will helpreaders understand this difficult time in history. 7-10 years
The Harmonica
By Tony Johnston, Illustrated by Ron Mazellan
When the Nazis invade Poland, a family is split apart. The parents are sent to one concentration camp, and their son to another. Only his father’s gift, a harmonica, keeps the boy’s hopes alive and miraculously ensures his survival. 7-10 years
The Wren and the Sparrow
By J. Patrick Lewis, Illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg
An allegorical tale about Nazi occupied Poland in which a town’s residents are forced to turn over their musical instruments. A young student rescues the hurdy-gurdy of her teacher, who has presumably befallen a terrible fate, and later, a young boy finds the instrument and intends to pass it — and the importance of remembering — on to his future grandchildren. 8-12 years
Always Remember Me: How One Family Survived World War II
By Marisabina Russo
Rachel’s Oma (her grandmother) has two picture albums. In one the photographs show only happy times — from after World War II, when she and her daughters came to America. But the other album includes much sadder times from before — when their life in Germany was destroyed by the Nazi’s rise to power. As long as Rachel can remember, Oma has closed the other album when she’s gotten to the sad part. But today Oma will share it all. Today Rachel will hear about what her grandmother, her mother, and her aunts endured. And she’ll see how the power of this Jewish family’s love for one another gave them the strength to survive. 6-10 years
Irena Sandler and the Children of the Warsaw Ghetto
By Susan Goldman Rubin, Illustrated by Bill Farnsworth
Irena Sendler, a Polish social worker, helped nearly four hundred Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto and into hiding during World War II. 6-9 years
The book descriptions used are from the publishers.
If you like this post, then please consider sharing it and leaving a comment below. Thank you! Barbara Lowell, Children’s Author
