This book is a short biography that actually includes picture of Vincent Van Gogh's most famous pictures. It also includes letters from his family and friends through out the book to add a more personal touch to his story. Its an easy quick read. ( )

This book about the famous – and somewhat infamous – Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh is excellent by many counts. It is perfectly organized chronologically as we move through the various and distinct phases of the artist’s life. Each new town, each new endeavor, warrants its own chapter. The chapter headings all include the dates covered by the following discussion. Importantly, the primary source of Vincent’s nearly 1,000 extant letters are indispensable to the creation of this work, but the authors’ interpretation of his writing and the integration of the direct quotes within the entire work make for a smooth and enthralling read. The photos and images in the center of the book are of high quality, both in sharpness and color. They are brilliantly organized by theme and color scheme!

In addition to being so well organized, there are diverse and useful access points. The contents page echoes the stellar organization of the book, as does the map, whose graphics perfectly encapsulate the areas of Europe inhabited by Vincent and uses a focus box to directly juxtapose the towns of his birth and youth with the towns of his incarceration and death. The prologue serves as an effective hook to draw the reader in and immediately absorb her into Vincent’s tumultuous yet beautiful world. The post-script tells us how we have access into Vincent’s mind in our modern world: through the inclination toward preservation of his sister-in-law. A Biographical Time Line is always a useful tool for such a book format. The list of Museum Locations launches the reader straight away into pipe dreams of being able to see all of his paintings someday. As any good teaching tool should have, the Index is useful and the Glossary of Artists & Terms is indispensable to art enthusiasts and novices alike, for practically no art scholar knows all of the artists. The notes are indicative of the most respectable scholarship on the part of the authors, lending great authenticity and quality to this short work, a respectability reiterated by the Bibliography and Photo Credits page. Finally, About the Authors reveals that these two are qualified scholars – experts in writing for children and knowledgeable about modern art and artists.

There were a couple of problems with the book, but fortunately problems that do not overshadow this work’s many great qualities. The choice of painting to adorn the cover is purely sensationalism. Vincent painted dozens of portraits – 25 in Paris alone – from which the publishers could have chosen. To choose one that featured his bandaged ear plays into the over-hyped and over-told story of his self-mutilation, perpetuating a focus away from the important events of his life and more pertinent aspects of his personality. Because the tone of the writing does not hint at sensationalism, I suspect this choice was made by the publishers alone and not the authors. The second section, beginning on page 15, covers Vincent’s life in England from 1876-1877, but the quote below the title is from a letter written in 1878. While this quote happens to be my favorite of his, it really bothered me that the author included it here when there are both so many other good quotes in his letters of that time from which to choose (Vincent was a prolific letter writer) and other good ways to incorporate this quote into the substance of the book. All other chapters featured a quote from the same years covered in the chapter. A pronunciation guide would have been quite helpful in navigating through European names. ( )

This short biography is written in an engaging and interesting style, includes prints of Van Gogh’s most famous works, and quotes from letters from Theo Van Gogh, Vincent’s brother and closest friend. While the subject is a serious one, the author maintains a positive tone, without blame or judgement of Van Gogh’s addictions or state of mental health. She focuses on the beauty he created in his short life. This is rated a 6.4 level, but would be appropriate due to the style of writing for upper elementary and up. Interestingly, it was honored as an ALA Best Book that year as well, in the YA category. The authors were both recognized with honor medal for this book in 2002. ( )

Vincent Van Gogh was a very brilliant artist whom spent most of his life painting so that one day his art would be famous. His art technique was new to the nineteenth century and not accepted by some people. Vincent Van Gogh had many trials in life concerning his art, which led him to study art and paint continuously to the point of destroying his body. He actually cut off him ear after drinking too much and having an argument with a friend. This book has a reading level of 6.3 and would be good for students ten years and older. The book has numerous photos of the fantastic pictures Van Gogh painted. There are also numerous pages in the back of the book of notes written in a timeline form that show information that was received from letters actually written by Van Gogh himself, his siblings, and friends. I would suggest this book to fifth and sixth graders. ( )

The book traces the unique life and artworks of the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh from his birth in 1853 to his death by suicide in 1890. The biography discusses many aspects of his life such as his various comrades, living arrangements, etc., and it traces his decent into madness later in life.

This book is a relatively easy read for a biography, and it is definitely a good fit for younger audiences. The writing is not stagnant or too technical/jargon-filled, as books of this type can often be, and the prose is engaging. It seems like it is a piece of fiction, most of the time. It offers numerous pictures, and it is very accurate. I thought the book painted a thorough picture of this misunderstood artist, and it never condemned him for his shortcomings, as so many books I read before do. ( )