Book 16

Book 16: Camille and the Sunflowers, by Laurence Anholt, Barron's 1994

Many people have made much money from Vincent Van Gogh's paintings -- sadly, he was not one of them. This sweet story from an incident in Van Gogh's life both delighted and saddened me. I was delighted to find out that the lonely painter had non-family benefactors and non-painter friends; and I was saddened to find out he was run out of town.

Unlike other of Laurence Anholt's artist series books, the pictures in this book have the feeling of Van Gogh's work, but are not illustrated in the style of Van Gogh's work. For a children's book, that is a good thing. Van Gogh's work is not especially pretty, but is incredibly powerful, evocative and complex. I think Laurence Anholt struck exactly the right tone in these illustrations.