With exuberant illustrations by New York Times bestselling artist Peter H. Reynolds, The Museum playfully captures the many emotions experienced through the power of art, and each child’s unique creative process. As a little girl tours and twirls through the halls of the art museum, she finds herself on an exciting adventure. Each piece of art evokes something new inside of her: silliness, curiosity, joy, and ultimately inspiration. When confronted with an empty white canvas, she is energized to create and express herself—which is the greatest feeling of all. T he Museum playfully captures the many emotions experienced through the power of art, and each child’s unique creative process. Praise for The Museum "Debut author Verde makes an engaging case for understanding art as an experience rather than an object." — Publishers Weekly "The rhymed text captures the excitement of a being sparked by art.” — Booklist "Communicates a fresh, playful, childlike perspective on art and normalizes childlike responses to it. The idea that posing, laughing, and curious questions are all appropriate museum behavior may be a new one for both children and parents, and knowing this is sure to make for more enjoyable museum visits." — School Library Journal "For parents who have trouble communicating the excitement of art to their children, The Museum can serve as the starting point for a conversation. The book is also a wonderful reminder of visual art’s power to encourage and empower self-expression. Children and adults will finish this book excited about their next art experience, and perhaps tempted to dance through the halls of a museum in the near future." — Bookpage "This playful picture book pays tribute to the joyous effect art can have on the viewer." — Shelf-Awareness K-Gr 3-In rhyming couplets, a girl describes her reactions to the exhibits in an art museum. A painting of a ballerina makes her want to pose, Van Gogh makes her "all twirly-whirly," some blue Cubism makes her "sad and blue," and she collapses in giggles at the sight of some squiggly abstract art. Finally, a blank white canvas first confuses, then inspires, her as she thinks of all the art she could fill it with. This book's strong point is the way it communicates a fresh, playful, childlike perspective on art and normalizes childlike responses to it. The idea that posing, laughing, and curious questions are all appropriate museum behavior may be a new one for both children and parents, and knowing this is sure to make for more enjoyable museum visits. Unfortunately, the pedestrian verse scans quite awkwardly, lessening the impact of the text. The explanation of the "blank canvas" is misleading as well-a white canvas hanging in a museum is likely not "mine to fill/the way I choose," as the narrator concludes. On the other hand, the cartoon illustrations are pleasantly uncluttered and full of energy. They include riffs on several famous works of art, though they are not identified by name and artist. An additional purchase.-Rachael Stein, Eastern Shore Regional Library, Salisbury, MDα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. When I see a work of art, something happens in my heart. So begins the journey of a young girl through a museum where the pictures she sees set off a whirlwind of emotions. The Starry Night gets her all twirly-whirly, twinkly, sparkly, super swirly. Munch’s The Scream is frightful. But it’s the huge blank canvas on the wall that stops her in her tracks. What does it mean? Is it a joke? But when she closes her eyes, the girl sees colors and shapes in her head and realizes she can create a picture with her own ideas and imagination. The rhymed text captures the excitement of a being sparked by art, though the poetry is forced at times. Reynolds’ breezy pictures overcome the shortcomings in ink drawings touched with colors that have their own twirly, whirly movement. Set against crisp white pages, both the girl and the pictures she views stand out. A note about the pictures and artists the book references would have added to the book’s usefulness, but still, this is a fun read-aloud. Preschool-Grade 2. --Ilene Cooper Susan Verde teaches yoga to children. This is her first book. She lives in East Hampton, New York. Peter H. Reynolds is the illustrator behind the mega-selling Judy Moody & Stink series and the author-illustrator of many other bestselling and award-winning picture books, including The Dot , Ish , and The North Star . He lives in Dedham, Massachusetts.