Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Katie and the Waterlily Pond
Picture Book Series
For ages 5 to 7
Orchard Books, 2012 ISBN: 978-1408304648
Katie and her grandmother are visiting an art gallery when Grandma sees that the gallery is hosting a Monet competition. Katie wants to participate, but she does not have much time because the judging will take place at three o’clock that day.
Looking for inspiration, Katie and Grandma visit the Claude Monet exhibition, and while Grandma rests, Katie goes to look at the paintings. She is convinced that she can create a painting in the style of Claude Monet for the contest, but she doesn’t have any paints. “If I just had some paints…” she says.
To Katie’s surprise, someone speaks to her and when she goes over to one of the Monet paintings she realizes that the voice is coming from the painting. Since Grandma is having a nap, Katie decides to step into the painting and she meets a painter called Blanche who was taught by Claude Monet. Blanche is happy to teach Katie a little about painting and she shows the little girl how to mix paints and how to use the different kind of brushes. When Katie steps out of the painting she has an easel, some paints, and paper to paint on. Now she needs to find something to paint. When Katie sees Monet’s painting Bathers at La Grenouillere she climbs into the painting so that she can “paint the view from a boat.”
In this delightful picture book readers can take a journey with a little girl who has the ability to step into paintings. They will get to see some of Claude Monet’s most famous paintings, and will come to appreciate that creating the right painting might require one to have a little patience and a lot of persistence.
At the back of the book readers will find further information about Claude Monet and about the paintings featured in the story.
