Brush of the Gods

The writing is fantastic with excellent word choice and imagery. The main character Wu Daozi was easy to empathize with and imagine. The greatest strength of the book is its seamless weaving of realism and legend. The book starts as a realistic tale of a daydreaming boy who fails at calligraphy only to become a great artist. Then it transitions to a tale in which painted butterflies soar off the page and the artist walks into his own painting. All in all, quite a feat.

Wu Daozi is said to be one of China's greatest painters, and this magnificently crafted visual feast combining the work of Lenore Look and Meilo So captures the artist's life from childhood to his disappearance into one of his paintings - or so legend has it. As a youth, Daozi marched to a different drummer as he created - never quite doing what the others in the class were doing, but in the end far exceeding them Speaking to the creative process, this book would charm listeners. Look is never heavy handed but does convey the message that being boastful is not okay. Only when staying humble did Daozi have a following.

A fictionalized story of the great Chinese painter; Wu Daozi. This story follows Wu Daozi from his childhood and first attempt at calligraphy, through his growing genius and mythical departure through his own painting. Meilo So's illustrations are incredibly beautiful and add depth and magic to this story.

A beautifully illustrated tale about Wu Daozi, a real painter from the Tang Dynasty. Look puts a delightful, magical spin on this biographical story. Daozi's paintings were so realistic, they jumped right off the wall and ran away! The artwork by Meilo So is fantastically detailed and intricate and gives rich depictions of what everyday life was like in China during this time. The book has a whimsical feel and the additional information on the last page adds intrigue. Great for a unit on art or ancient China.

This is a very inspired story about Wu Daozi. It talks about how he was very creative in writing class as a child. He would paint amazing, inspired paintings of all types of animals. Legend says that his paintings would come to life. The book says that, "The children followed Daozi everywhere. As long as he painted, they forgot their hunger." The book really captured the importance of his art throughout the book My favorite part about the book is the artwork. It really captures the real characteristics of Asian art. I think that children would learn a lot about this culture's artwork, as well as about the famous Wu Daozi. I also thought the note at the end of the book was very interesting. It tells the readers that the legend says that show more Daozi never died and that he actually entered his last painting. I think that children would find that very interesting and it might interest them to learn more! show less

I really loved this story - the artwork was beautiful and the story itself was larger than life and magical, but still based on a real person. Students will definitely respond to the magical elements of the story, and it's a great way to introduce American students to a popular traditional tale from another culture.

This is an amazing picture book that brings to life the legendary Chinese painter, Wu Daozi. It is a story of passion, imagination, persistence and even rebellious creation. The illustrations are unique and beautiful and the story captures the movement that 'Flying Sleeves's' art was said to have.