Louise Loves Art

Intent on her drawing, and determined to create her masterpiece, Louise is blind at first to her younger brother's almost slavish devotion, his efforts to attract her attention by joining her in the creative process. When he 'destroys' her best effort yet - a portrait of her cat - by creating a chain of paper people, she is angry at first. Then she discovers just who the paper people are meant to represent and is reminded that although she loves her art, she loves Art - her brother - even more...

A sweet tale of a girl, her brother, their cat, and their art, Louise Loves Art is a tribute to young artists, and a reminder that what at first might seem like a violation of one's own artistic integrity, can actually be a welcome contribution, show more a first step toward collaboration with others. It also depicts the loving bond between sisters and brothers, highlighting the elder sibling's role in encouraging the younger. The illustrations themselves - appropriately, for a book about creating art - are quite appealing, making excellent use of a limited color palette, and adeptly capturing the emotional state of each scene. I thought Louise's cat was particularly charming. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories about art and/or siblings. show less

I loved this book for two reasons. First, I enjoyed the illustrations and the emphasis on the color red. I found that interesting because the rest of the picture would be quite dull in color, but there was always a spark of red in every illustration to emphasize a particular object. For example, when Louise’s brother was drawing over her art, it would be done in red to show the reader what is happening because the text does not mention it in order to show that Louise is not aware of what her brother is up to. Second, the theme of the story was very heart-warming. Louise ended up not being upset with her brother even though he had cut up her masterpiece. I think that is something many children could relate to, especially if they have a show more sibling. This story is entertaining to read but it also teaches children a good lesson. show less

"I love art! It's my imagination on the outside....To be a great artist, you have to notice everything."

Louise is an enthusiastic artist, but she's so absorbed in her art that she fails to observe her younger brother, Art, who puts his own stamp on her masterpiece. After an initial dismayed reaction, Louise takes a closer look and changes her mind: "Oh, Art. I love it." Plenty of white space on the page gives ample room for Louise's art (and drama), Art's background activities, and the cat's poses.

See also: Olivia; Fancy Nancy

As the title suggests, Louise really loves art. She is always engaged with creating her next masterpiece, while her little brother and cat follow her around, trying to catch her attention. Her brother, Art, clearly looks up to his big sister, and while she is busy plotting out where her masterpiece should hang, he is busy cutting up her masterpiece to make artwork of his own. Louise is at first irate when she finally notices that her masterpiece is now a paper chain of people, but when she takes a second look and sees that Art has drawn images of himself and his big sister, she realizes her mistake. She was so busily involved in her own interests that she was neglecting the little brother who means so much to her. The story ends with show more the refrain that started it, that Louise really loves Art, but this time we know it is referring to both her brother and her love of drawing. The illustrations are bold and cartoony, with a minimal of color aside from the vibrant red that cuts across each scene. The play on words is obvious but nicely underscores the point that it is important to be share our interests with the people we love, even more important than creating masterpieces, and the ending illustration of Louise and Art doodling together is wonderful. It's a sweet story, and much enjoyed by my two creative daughters who also love creating masterpieces. show less

In my opinion, this is an excellent book. I was drawn to this book as soon as I laid eyes on it, and before I could judge the book by its cover, I found myself flipping through the pages to see if the inside could attract me in a similar way. There are three reasons why I enjoyed this book, specifically the captivating illustrations, its smart use of language, and its ability to capture and push the reader into broadening perspectives.

Kelly Light not only serves as the author of this book, but also the illustrator. Her use of color is delightful and very pleasing to the eye. I especially enjoyed her use of the color red as an accent, popping out wonderfully against the hues of black, white, and gray she used as her base colors for the show more illustrations. I especially enjoyed seeing red L’s illustrated on the drawings Louise used to decorate the house. It gave the drawing created by Louise an extra breath of life and a childlike charm.

Another element that I enjoyed about the book in regards to the illustrations was how much they progressed the story. If the text within the book were taken away, the story itself would still be able to be told through the illustrations, making the book versatile. For instance, when Louise is focusing on where to hang her newest picture and her brother is cutting up the picture in the background, the facial expressions made by their pet cat show the reader that the cat is nervous and trying to get the attention of Louise before it is too late.

A second feature that was wonderful was the use of language in the text. The author weaved in a couple of French words and phrases to add a special element to the text. Words like “pièce de résistance” gave the reader a small taste of French that was appropriate and not overwhelming- especially for a young reader. Another use of language that Light incorporated was the smart double meaning of the title of the book itself, “Louise Loves Art”. When one first thinks about the meaning of the title, the natural assumption is that the child. Louise, enjoys art forms such as drawing, painting, etc. What the reader discovers upon reading the story is that her little brother’s name is Art, therefore giving the title uniqueness in that while Louise loves art, she also loves her brother, Art.

My third main reason for my admiring this book is the ability it has to capture the audience and push the reader into broadening perspectives. When Art cuts Louise’s picture, Louise was frustrated at first. However, when she saw the finished product of Art’s “destruction” and realizes he created his own piece of art, she sees beauty in it. Instead of carrying on in a tantrum about her picture, she congratulated her brother’s piece of art and they began starting another project. I think this is a great way to teach children to see situations in more than one way and to always be kind and understanding to others, which I believe is the main idea of this book.

To conclude, this work proves itself to be one of the greats of the contemporary realistic fiction genre, as is relates to children of all ages and provides the reader a relatable tale that will help shape a young child into being a caring and empathetic individual. This believable tale highlights the change of young Louise, as she transforms from a child into a young lady. show less

Bespectacled Louise is an artist who draws and draws and draws, her work covering the floor of her house. Nearby is her brother and her cat, who poses and becomes the subject of many a piece. The illustrations add a whole other layer to the text with cat's poses as the thinker and a reclining figure, reminiscent of great works of art. And that's what Louise seeks to produce: her greatest masterpiece. While she hangs her art show, taping drawings to every available surface, ignoring her brother turns out not to be a good idea. He has ideas of his own as to what to do with his sister's masterpiece. Clever illustrations, sophisticated text make this a piece de resistance.

Louise loves art, which happen to also be the name of her little brother. Louise is engulfed in creating her masterpiece and turning her house into her very own art museum. Her little brother just wants to play with her, but Louise doesn't have time. We see Art making his own pieces in the background of many pictures. Finally, Art takes Louise's masterpiece and cuts it up into his own art, little paper dolls. At first we think Louise will be mad, but then we see her appreciate it and put it right onto their family's fridge. On the final page, we see the brother and sister happily drawing together.
This was a fun read with a cute story. I took away the main idea being that art is different and special for everybody. Louise defines her art show more by the use of lines and curves, where her brother likes to add color and use scissors. A fun activity would be to read to the class and then create the paper dolls just like the little boy had. show less