This book is great example of a biography because it is another person telling about the friendship and relationship between the famous artists Picasso and Matisse. It gives details about their lives, how they paint, and about how their friendship developed over time.
Characters: The characters in this book are essential to the book because it is a story about them and how their friendship and relationship developed over time. Their conflict and eventual friendship makes this book what it is.

Grade 2-4-In this delightful tale of modern artists, a porky Pigasso and a bullish Mootisse start out as neighbors but end up feuding when they start criticizing one another's work. Now rivals, they transform their farms into bold works of art and then build a fence between the properties. However, the painters find that they miss one another's company and they each paint an apology on the fence-paintings that wow the critics and make the two fast friends. Based loosely on the real-life relationship between Picasso and Matisse, Laden's tale is a wonderful tribute to these exceptional talents and to the concept of accepting the ideas of others. The story is fast paced, packed with humor, and filled with clever wordplay.

Review—

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Age Appropriateness: Primary

Characterization: Pigasso is one of the co-stars in this book, so he is not the protagonist. He remains a stagnate character through the book.

Plot: This book is based around the meeting of Picasso and Matisse but instead of using people they are replaced with animals. There become conflict between the artist and each others art and the two stop talking to each other for a while. But they soon realize how much they miss each other and how great the others art really is. They end up trying each others art and paint the exact same thing.

Imaginative fantasy based off of real people but in a silly and fun way with an untrue plot. Good for Primary and Intermediate Grade Levels. A pig named pigasso and a bull named Mootisse are both great artists but are very different from the other. They don't like one another and have a huge rivalry between them. The plot is person vs. person as the pig and bull disagree about painting styles but soon learn to become friends and respect one anothers' creations. The book includes biographies of the real artists. The Gouache artwork in the book really make it what it is. The painting show the style of both the illustrator and the original artists Picasso and Matisse. ( )

Age Appropriateness: Elementary
This is a good fantasy book, because it shows animals that are personified. It is also a story that is believable, however would not occur in reality.
Characterization: Mootisse. - Mootisse is a round and dynamic character. We find this out through his action and paintings. He is round because we know a lot about him. He is also dynamic because he changes from not liking Pigasso to liking him and getting along with him.
Media: Acrylic/Oil paints