Alice Provensen (1918–2018)

Ohhh this book!! What a joy to read and peruse.

I wasn't familiar with the Provensens by name, but I'm sure I'd seen their artwork before--being the child of the 80s (ergo, avid Little Golden Books and Caldecott Medal-winning-book reader) that I am. :D I _so_ enjoyed this introduction to them as artists, and to their works and approach to illustration. They were true collaborators in every sense and in every arena of life, not just artwork/their careers. Alice Provensen said at one point, show more "There is a great sense of support in having someone beside you whose skill and judgement you trust. ... Since we are not competing with each other but rather are working toward the same goal, we are delighted if one of us can paint a better picture" (eARC page 21). Can you imagine if more of us saw each other-- whether spouse, colleague, or friend--like this? Not as colleagues bot as collaborators or even simply heading similar directions?

The Provensens also made a point of letting the books they illustrated drive their style, not the other way around. "Martin and I always sought to enhance the spirit of the book, and to reflect the intention of the author as far as we understood it," Alice said (eARC page 23). And finally, Alice's perseverance after Martin's death really struck me. "After my father died," wrote daughter Karen, "my mother somehow persevered. I remember her saying that she had a choice to either crawl in a closet and die ... or to try and put her best foot forward. So she forced herself to look outward, determined to find a way to go on" (eARC page 30). Alice lived 21 years after Martin died; I'd say she succeeded in finding the way!

_The Art of Alice and Martin Provensen_ includes a wide variety of their art--I was frankly (and very pleasantly) shocked. Talk about a great introduction! Some styles I enjoyed more than others, most notably _The Fireside Cook Book_ and _A Child's Garden of Verses_. I'm excited to revisit these and others from my childhood with a new eye and appreciation for the illustrations!

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. show less

A truly beautiful, charming book. Newly released from a set of unpublished dummy pages by the celebrated illustrators Alice and Martin Provenson, it’s a character sketch of the farm cat Max, a singleton kitten who grows up to taunt other cats, smile at the horse, torment the dog, chase the chickens, and who LOVES to help make the bed. The ink and watercolor pictures are riotous, funny, and display Max in all his moods, and his lovely farm in all its glories of trees and grasses and the show more evening sky…when Max’s “real life” begins. The final image brought a tear of wonder to this reader’s eye, evoking my own rambunctious, complicated, serious and mischievous rural tabby cat. I cherish this little book show less

Many of us have a book or two from their early childhood that we seek out as adults with memories based on half-remembered (and frequently misremembered) details. This picture book was one of mine, and I just found it! The only particulars I had to work off of were 1) an illustration of an ice-skating boy positioned with his skates perpendicular to one another (incidentally, this gave me the conviction that this is how one skated), and 2) the last page depicted a garden archway covered in show more flowers.

As for the book itself, it's a joyful look at all the fun things there are to do as the seasons change (assuming you live in a clime with changing seasons). The illustrations are cute, and I'm delighted to have successfully hunted it down, despite it being out of print and not having aged well with respect to diverse representation. show less

At first I did not like this book, it seemed like it looked down on poor people. But I think it’s just matter of fact. I don’t generally see representation of families who live this way, with yards that are not sterile and empty.

It addresses how people do treat people on “the wrong sides of the tracks”. It also addresses eminent domain. The erasure of the working poor and pushing aside of them is not something I’ve commonly found either. I would pair this with The Little House by show more Virginia Lee Burton. show less