Publishers Weekly
Glimpsed imagining himself as a painter in Willy the Dreamer, Brownes
versatile chimp now takes up the palette in perhaps his most intriguing outing
yet. Willy presents his versions of 16-plus familiar masterpieces, working his
own imageand a sophisticated, quirky humorinto each. Refashioning Winslow
Homers rather somber The Herring Net as The Fruitful Fishing Trip, for
instance, Willy adds splashes of color by changing the fishermens catch to
bananas; alongside the boat floats a pig, its neck encircled with this fruit.
Pieter Brueghel the Elders The Tower of Babel here becomes a sandcastle, with
an overlaid image of Willy cast as the subject from William Blakes Glad Day.
Observant readers will pick up on several recurring motifs, as well as elements
from additional paintings: the desolate streetscape in Edward Hoppers Early
Sunday Morning is brightened by flowers in a window (a diminutive reproduction
of Vincent van Goghs Still Life: Vase with Twelve Sunflowers), his friend
Millie appears in another window, and Willy walks his dog (Buster Nose the
gorilla on all fours) past a barber-shop pole in the multicolored pattern of
the chimps signature vest. On the penultimate spread, Browne sheds his mask to
take readers on a tour of the pictures that inspired Willy. A minor caveat:
some of the reproductions of the original paintings in a concluding gatefold
index are too small for youngsters to fully appreciate the contrast between the
masters and Willys works. Regardless, Willys enlightening captions beneath
the original masterworks and a complete list of where the paintings can be
viewed make this one-volume minimuseum well worth a visit. Ages 4-up. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Childrens Literature
Willy, a modest, lovable chimp hero, takes us on a tour of a series of
pictures he seems to have painted, where every picture tells a story. For
anyone with a knowledge of art history these all look familiar, although the
main characters are now chimps, gorillas, or other unusual folks, with strange
items appearing in odd places. Brief captions add either fun or further
mystery. All of the pictures are painted in realistic detail with many motifs
from Brownes other books included. At the end, we are led through a door into
a three-page foldout with tiny reproductions of the original art plus brief
personal commentary by Browne. The jacket/cover pictures Willy painting a
portrait of the illustrator. Finally, a mask of Willy is left on the table when
the figure leads us out of the room, an added puzzle. What a great way to get
us all to look more closely and imaginatively at the art of the world. 2000,
Candlewick Press, $16.99. Ages 5 up. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

The Five Owls
Anthony Browne shows with his newest creation that fine art can be fun. In
fact, it can be downright hysterical. Willy, Brownes perennial chimpanzee, has
taken up the brush in hand, and he and his friends are cast in sixteen
paintings spanning five hundred years of Western art from Van Eycks Arnolfini
Marriage to Edward Hoppers Early Sunday Morning. The fact that every
painting has a story to tell seems to be the theme of this book, and the
selections Browne has made illustrate his theory quite well. As an added bonus,
particularly sharp-eyed viewers will spot snippets of other famous works of art
as well. Though children might not understand all of the numerous visual puns,
they will certainly catch the humor that Browne is trying to convey. The
alterations of the paintings are done with a childs eye in mind. The
intriguing titles and clever captions nudge the viewer in the direction of
interpreting the story that the image has to tell. Browne has frequently
referenced famous art in his other books, but this book goes several steps
beyond mere referencing. He cleverly manipulates the art to help it fit a more
modern context that, in turn, lends a wonderful humor to an already unique
book. Mona Lisas dentures, the gorilla with a pet human at Grande Jatte, the
televis