Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Dec 06, 2011

Susan rated it:

The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse is one of the most stunning children's books I have ever seen. The author, is Eric Carle, you may recognise him from one of his pervious books being The Hungry Catapiller. I remember this as a child, it was one of my favourites when I was very young, so it was one I introduced to my children when they were very young. When I heard about this book I had to get it. This is his first brand new picture book in four years.
The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse More...

0 comments like

Dec 15, 2011

David rated it:

The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse by Eric Carle pays tribute to Blue Rider (Blaue Reiter), created by painter Franz Marc (1880-1916), emulating Marc's creations of fancifully colored animals, making this a celebration of the artistic spirit.

This story is about an artist who paints beautiful animals in bright, vibrant colors not associated with those animals: such as a polka dot donkey, a green lion, a black polar bear, or a red crocodile. The main text is in a large bold font, and More...

0 comments like

Jan 05, 2012

Amber rated it:

What a beautiful book. For children, it is colorful and fun. For adults, it is about learning something new. Most everyone is familiar with Eric Carle’s illustrations even if they have not cracked open one of his picture books. With beautiful brush strokes and painted on texture, they are truly phenomenal. Like many of Carle’s books, The Artist Who Pained a Blue Horse, teaches children about different animals through art, but in this book the animals are all the wrong colors which will astonish More...

0 comments like

Sep 20, 2011

Barbara rated it:

With simple text and his trademark painted tissue paper collage, Eric Carle celebrates the artist inside each of us while paying tribute to artist Franz Marc whose nontraditional paintings such as Blue Horse I, painted in 1911, were controversial at the time because of their use of unusual colors. In this picture book a young artist uses his imagination to paint a blue horse, a red crocodile, a yellow cow, a green lion, and even a donkey with a rainbow of polka dots across its side. Back matter More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 19, 2011

Dolly rated it:

We've loved Eric Carle's books and have read some of them (like The Very Hungry Caterpillar) so many times that our own board book copies have fallen apart. So when we saw this book, I just knew we had to borrow it. I was afraid that our girls would think it was too young and babyish for them, but they really liked it too. And I loved the information about Franz Marc, who inspired the book as well as the expanded biographical information about the author and his art teacher's boldness and bra More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 06, 2012

Violet rated it:

This is a very simple book that can be read to children in less than five minutes. It is filled with viberant colors and large pictures. I feel this book promotes creativity in children.

Learning activity:

I will show the children pictures of other art created by Eric Carle. We will compare the different pieces of art. I will give each child a pattern of a horse. I will supply the children with modeling clay, tissue paper, construction paper, markers, paints and chalk, so t More...

0 comments like

Jan 29, 2012

Alisha rated it:

I feel this book should have received the Caldecott award for 2011. I chose this book because of the beautiful illustrations. The illustrations are simple, but bright and colorful. I like how Eric Carle painted each animal an unrealistic color, such as a blue horse, or red crocodile. The illustrator was inspired by another artist, Franz Marc. Franz Marc painted a blue horse in one of his paintings. The author, also Eric Carle did not incorporate many words into this book either, which I like. T More...

0 comments like

Dec 19, 2011

Esti rated it:

Inspired by Franz Marc's paintings of blue horses, Eric Carle has created a beautiful a book celebrating artistic creativity. The story is simple: a young artist paints animals in various unnatural colors, affirming, "I am a good artist." Carle's vivid tissue paper collages are saturated with color and contain an almost three-dimensional depth, keeping the reader's eye on the page long after the few words have been read. A brief afterword gives an account of Franz Marc and his revoluti More...

0 comments like

Oct 05, 2011

Stacey rated it:

The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse by Eric Carle is a wonderful children's book. It tells the story of a child as an artist painting a blue horse, a red crocodile, a yellow cow and a polka-dot donkey. The book is full of bright, vibrant illustrations that stand out against the plain white page. The English is simple, with only a few words on each page. The author creates a sense of fun throughout the book as the animals are painted in colours that are not the norm. This promotes creativity and More...

0 comments like

Oct 27, 2011

VegasGal rated it:

I thought that I would have a special affinity with this author and really appreciate this book since I so proudly colored a picture of Jesus purple when I was a young child doing crafts in vacation bible school, but alas I was completely disappointed. Sure, I understand the point of "thinking outside the box" and being creative, and yes, the pictures were colored very nicely with wild, vivid colors, but there was no accompanying story, which is a big disappointment especially since th More...

0 comments like

Jan 15, 2012

Joan rated it:

This book is amazing and you will miss this if you do not carefully read the caption under the painting of a blue horse by another artist at the end of this book. You will miss this if you do not read the bios of both Franz Marc and Eric Carl that are written on the last page of this book. You will be blown away by the melding of history, art, tragedy and bravery that made this book possible. My youngest daughter loves this book because it was a book she quickly learned to recite on her own w More...

0 comments like

Sep 30, 2011

Pat rated it:

here's a quote from another review of this book, "The artist in this book paints the world as he sees it, just like a child. There's a red crocodile, an orange elephant, a purple fox and a polka-dotted donkey". Apparently the artist in this book is saying that children are idiots because i have never seen a red crocodile, an orange elephant, a purple fox, nor a polka-dotted donkey. also, that quote is basically every word in the book anyways so don't waste your time. as an artist eric More...

1 comment like

Nov 10, 2011

B rated it:

I had no idea that Eric Carle was such big pajamas. He has his own museum and everything. That very hungry caterpillar really was a good idea. This is nice. My favorite part is the inside of the front and back cover. It's just a colorful smudgy painting, but it's beautiful. It's a little pretentious though, right? I mean, Eric Carle painted a painting of a blue horse which is at a museum in Germany, so this is really a book about himself and what a good idea that was. Oh well, at least it has a More...

2 comments like

Oct 27, 2011

Tasha rated it:

A young artist paints a blue horse running against a yellow sky, then continues to paint animals in amazing colors. There is a red crocodile, a yellow cow, a pink rabbit, and an orange elephant. The book speaks powerfully and simply to the spirit of creativity, the ability to change the world through art, and the right to express yourself. This becomes even more clear as the book ends with Carle’s own childhood experiences in Nazi Germany where he first saw the forbidden work of Franz Marc wh More...

0 comments like

Feb 17, 2012

Randie rated it:

First off, my son was so EXCITED when he saw the cover this book! He said: "Oh, oh, oh! I know this author! He writes the story and is the illustrator for all of the books I like!" I love that we both have had the opportunity to grow up with Eric Carle's works, let's hope he passes the books on to the next generation.

Secondly, this is a bright, fun, and creative story about an artist painting uniquely colored animals. The donkey was our favorite.

Great book for y

0 comments like

Feb 19, 2012

Emily added it

I had never read this book by Eric Carle until I sat down and read it for my author study. I believe that this book is one of the newest ones that he has written. One thing that I love about Eric Carle is that he has such a talent for art and the pictures in this book are no different. The pictures are so vibrant and it makes you want to go and color! I loved this story because it shows children that they can use their imagination when looking at different animals.

0 comments like

Dec 30, 2011

Glenda rated it:

I love the artwork in this picture book where all the animals are depicted in colors not typical to their species. I also love the theme: art is individual and unique; it's certainly an idea children need to hear over and over in our homogenized world. However, I found the text boring. Okay, I know repetition is important for children to hear and that it teaches them to read, but this is no "Tuesdays" or "Where the Wild Things Are."

0 comments like

Oct 27, 2011

Jess rated it:

Not quite and instant classic, but a wonderful story nonetheless. I like that it is perfectly ok to paint, draw, color however you choose--regardless of whether or not it is realistic. I'd love to hand this book (complete with Eric Carle's testimony on the last page) to all of those parents who scold their kids for putting googly eyes on chins, sticking ears on foreheads, and enjoying their right to artistic freedom.

0 comments like

Dec 08, 2011

Karen rated it:

I like the message here - it's okay to experiment, to see things differently. A blue horse or a yellow cow are acceptable. The tie to the the German artist Franz Marc and the biographical elements of Carle's story (he grew up in Nazi Germany where expressionist art was banned) add depth to the idea, though that info is really for the grown ups buying the book, not the child reading it...

0 comments like

Feb 12, 2012

Carol rated it:

Excellent, colorful illustrations of animals in colors different from their natural hues. The illustrations invite discussions about colors, animals, and imagination. This book will appeal to some families and not to others which, of course, is true of all books :) Picture books can be used by many ages. This one might inspire artists of all ages to share the world they see and feel.

0 comments like

Dec 14, 2011

Carolynne rated it:

This is a concept book rather than either a biography ( of Franz Marc, German born painter killed in WWI)or fiction. Great for inspiring children to exercise freedom of expression, teaching colors, shapes, and other basic art concepts. The author's note also tells how reactionary the Nazi regime was, forbidding any kind of modern or abstract art.

0 comments like

Nov 23, 2011

Debbie (Readerbuzz) rated it:

Eric Carle draws animals in crazy and unexpected colors, all beautiful and bright and magnificent. He is right when he says, “I am a good artist.”

“I am an artist
and I paint…
a blue horse
and…
a red crocodile
and…”

I just can't think logically about an Eric Carle book. I love it. Unconditionally.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 17, 2011

Becky rated it:

It's a new Eric Carle just in time for the holiday season! This is nothing new, but would work well in a storytime about colors or animals. Bright, large-scale collages with few words, and a "no wrong way to be creative" message with an added note about an artist who DID paint a controversial blue horse in 1911 -- Franz Marc.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 10, 2011

Emerson rated it:

A simple book, but great fun to read. This book features a blue horse, an orange elephant, a purple fox, and many other animals with interesting color choices. We borrowed this book from the library, but I might need a copy to keep at home. Perhaps not interesting for older kids, but perfect for me right now at 19 months.

0 comments like

Jan 30, 2012

Carol rated it:

It was only by reading the inside of the paper cover that I was able to understand this book was to encourage the little ones to think outside the box. It would have been better, i think, to somehow have included that in the actual book. The concept was great. Lacked ..... anything else.

0 comments like

Jan 14, 2012

The Library Lady rated it:

Yes, this is a tribute to unconventional art. But to kids, it will just be joyous colorful animals and the sense of a child having fun/being proud of his art. And if it was that and that alone, it would still be another outstanding book from an author who creates books that will LAST!

0 comments like

Nov 20, 2011

Jocelin rated it:

Another wonderfully, colorful book by Eric Carle. He drew inspiration for this book from the abstract artist Franz Marc. It was such a delight to see the bright vivid colors in this story. Eric Carle's work is so breath- taking in its simplicity. He is a delight to read at any age.

0 comments like

Nov 07, 2011

Tricia rated it:

What great encouragement to children to think creatively...the artist paints a myriad of animals, all in bright colors that may not be considered "norm"...for example, a black polar bear. My children loved this book and requested multiple readings.

0 comments like

Oct 26, 2011

Paula rated it:

Rather than use the same old colors, a child paints animals and objects in a variety of different hues. Includes biographical information about the German painter Franz Marc, who created unconventional animal paintings in the early 1900s.

0 comments like

Nov 23, 2011

Lisa rated it:

I wanted to love this even more than I did because I loved: the art, the author’s note at the end about Franz Marc and the inclusion of one of that artist’s blue horse paintings, and I love the message that using atypical colors can be fine art.

But, there’s no story here at all. It just shows the artist saying he’s painting this animal in that color and that animal in this color. That’s the entire book.

The simplicity of the text and the big boldly colored illustrations m More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

reviews