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65th out of 78 books
—
54 voters
The Van Gogh Cafe
Magic things happen at the Van Gogh Cafe in Flowers, Kansas. No one quite knows why, but people think it’s because the cafe building was once a theater. They figure the walls absorbed enough magic during those years of lights and costumes and opening nights to last forever. Ten-year-old Clara is another reason for the magic. She believes anything might happen--and it alway...more
Hardcover, 64 pages
Published
June 29th 1995
by Harcourt Children's Books
(first published 1995)
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Jul 07, 2012
Tiffany Cooke
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2012,
children-s-books
The Van Gogh Cafe is the story of a magical cafe. It is not magical in the traditional sense, but the cafe's magic changes lives.
The cafe was once a theater - which is where the magic begins. "Some say magic comes from heaven, and others say it comes from hell, but anyone who has ever visited the Van Gogh Cafe knows that magic comes from a building that was once a theater..."
Each chapter shares a new person or animal who experiences the magic of making a difference for the other people and an...more
The cafe was once a theater - which is where the magic begins. "Some say magic comes from heaven, and others say it comes from hell, but anyone who has ever visited the Van Gogh Cafe knows that magic comes from a building that was once a theater..."
Each chapter shares a new person or animal who experiences the magic of making a difference for the other people and an...more
Marc and clara move frum a plasand the opoen the van ngogh cafe. Clara need not have doubted thr cafe.for real magic is on its way. in fact it is landing right now. it is 5:00in Thursday afternoon when clara sees the firdt gull; 5:05 when she sees 6:00 fifty new seagulls are sitting on the roof of the van Gogh Cafe. the is dog is sind out in the sent and peple get the dog food out send of rthe cafe. the food is cuneing to life the dad is doing the prend.. the magic cuming in the van gogh cafe a...more
Not only does the magic renew Clara's (the 10 year-old who helps her father run the Van Gogh Cafe) hope and add a rainbow splash of color to her life, but the magic between Marc (Clara's father) and Clara struck me as inspiring, too. Marc and Clara share the work, and share the magic: The father and daughter make an interesting, enjoyable team to read about, from the time lightning struck the Cafe, to the time they met a very special writer and all the times in between. It seems Clara expects go...more
Nov 30, 2011
Rebecca McGoldrick
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
3rd-graders-recommend
We love this book! It's a very good book. It's funny. It's perfect for children who really love funny stories, adventures, and magic. It's safe to read. There are no bad words or scary things. There is only one sad part.
If you liked the book Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman, you'll like this one because Seedfolks really connects to this book because each chapter is about someone new but it still makes a good story. At the end it all comes together to make a book that you will really enjoy.
We would...more
If you liked the book Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman, you'll like this one because Seedfolks really connects to this book because each chapter is about someone new but it still makes a good story. At the end it all comes together to make a book that you will really enjoy.
We would...more
Nov 01, 2011
Sherry
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
j-pb-er-middle-grade-ya-fict-and-nf
Well, not what I expected from Cynthia Rylant, and from many of the reviews posted here and on the book cover. But, I love Cynthia Rylant's other series and respect her work, and I majored in Art History. It was a must-read. The best vignette here was the final one, the one I remotely saw coming from the outset when Rylant spoke of the magic in the theatre walls. I could also tell that the actor was waiting to expire, not literally waiting for a friend to walk in. This type of mature scenario wo...more
I actually think that this may have deserved some Newbery Honor consideration for 1996. Cynthia Rylant has cooked up a story of not-so-subtle magic that is, nonetheless, difficult to pin down exactly. Ever since lightning struck at the Van Gogh Cafe, special, hard-to-explain things have happened, bringing help to people when they most need it and anticipating future needs before they even arise. This book has a unique style, guided well by the experienced touch of Cynthia Rylant. "The Van Gogh...more
May 12, 2008
Jennifer Wardrip
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
trt-posted-reviews
Reviewed by Carrie Spellman for TeensReadToo.com
The Van Gogh Café is magic. Nobody knows quite how or why, but they all agree that it is. Nobody knows it better than ten-year-old Clara. She helps her dad, Marc, run the café. Clara knows how much the café loves stories, and the small stories don't often stay small for long.
To the people in Flowers, Kansas, who have been going to the café all of their lives, the unbelievable is pretty normal, and the impossible seems quite possible. Anything can...more
The Van Gogh Café is magic. Nobody knows quite how or why, but they all agree that it is. Nobody knows it better than ten-year-old Clara. She helps her dad, Marc, run the café. Clara knows how much the café loves stories, and the small stories don't often stay small for long.
To the people in Flowers, Kansas, who have been going to the café all of their lives, the unbelievable is pretty normal, and the impossible seems quite possible. Anything can...more
The Van Gough Cafe
Cynthia Ryland.
1995.
magic happens at the Van Gough Cafe in Flowers Kansas, which is located in an old movie theater. Poems that give the whereabouts of lost cats. Seagulls appear thousands of miles from the ocean and hitch a ride to Kansas. Old actors show up and find ghostly escorts to the land hearafter.
It is a book that looks like a snd to third grade book, but in reality it probalby would apeal to much older kdis and adults.
Cynthia Ryland.
1995.
magic happens at the Van Gough Cafe in Flowers Kansas, which is located in an old movie theater. Poems that give the whereabouts of lost cats. Seagulls appear thousands of miles from the ocean and hitch a ride to Kansas. Old actors show up and find ghostly escorts to the land hearafter.
It is a book that looks like a snd to third grade book, but in reality it probalby would apeal to much older kdis and adults.
Prolific and popular children's book author Cynthia Rylant has crafted series and independent works directed toward students of varying levels of maturity, ranging from early pre-readers to the fully mature. This relatively short, mystical work, The Van Gogh Cafe, combines challenging intellectual and emotional themes and symbols with relatively simple language accessible to the very young. It may be particularly useful for struggling older readers, who may be ready to discuss complex themes but...more
Nov 20, 2010
Dolly
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
parents reading with their children
Shelves:
2010,
other-usa,
pets,
cooking-recipes,
poetry-song-music,
christmas,
halloween,
favorites,
short-stories
This is a terrific collection of stories that are mellow and magical. They are mostly small occurrances that might be overlooked by someone who wasn't as observant or as in tune with the magic of this special cafe. We really enjoyed this story and we loved that it comes from one of our favorite children's authors, Cynthia Rylant. It earns a rare five-star rating from me for the magic and the way it captured our attention and our hearts.
I listened to this book on audiotape with my sons and I am certain the reader and my listening partners added much to the charm of this book. Some books I enjoy more simply because they are read to me and I believe this was the case with this book. I also love to share stories with my children and the little pieces of magic that made my children smile, endeared me to this book. The story was charming and sweet.
I saw this book sitting on the shelf at one of the elementary libraries I work at. The poor thing sat there every day not being checked out. I decided to take it home. I read this book last night in one sitting. It is a quick read. I was surprised that the "Henry and Mudge" author wrote an enchanting chapter book. It was not my favorite children's chapter book, but I did enjoy it. It was a nice read. :)
What a great book! It's subtleties were probably lost on my five year old, but would be much appreciated by old kids, perhaps in fourth grade or higher. No illustrations in this one, but scenes of the cafe are vividly painted with words. Magical and mysterious events that carry messages in each chapter are worthy of being shared. Would make a great classroom read-aloud.
Sweet, a little bit too much so. Not sure of the relevance of naming the cafe after a French mad artist. But I'm rating it highly because: one of the little stories was about a true love that lasted a lifetime - that just happened to involve, btw, two men. Recommended for fans of Alice Hoffman and others who like rich bites of heartwarming fantasy.
When I was seven or eight years old and home sick from school, my mom brought me two things in bed: a hot cup of Earl Grey tea and this darling book that I always keep nearby. Of all the books in the entire world, this is the one that stole my heart.
Clara is an imaginative, precocious young girl who lives in Flowers, Kansas with her dad. They own a cafe on the main street in town, a cafe that was once a theatre. The magic in those walls still makes funny things happen in the cafe, and Clara not...more
Clara is an imaginative, precocious young girl who lives in Flowers, Kansas with her dad. They own a cafe on the main street in town, a cafe that was once a theatre. The magic in those walls still makes funny things happen in the cafe, and Clara not...more
Ah, childhood... I still remember being bored out of my mind in my art classroom, reading and rereading the single piece of literature there. A couple of interesting vignettes combine to create a general good feeling in the reader, making a nice short book for elementary to middle school readers.
Magic is in the Van Gogh Cafe, as Rylant claims, but even more so, it's in this book. This is a wonderful example of one of the author's strengths I most admire, her ability to reveal the magic in ordinary things. Never has she done that more successfully than in this haunting book.
Cute and definitely for a younger audience. It was ok. I'd be curious to know what I would have thought of it when I were MUCH younger. Maybe I'll read it to Ruby one day and see what she thinks. I wouldn't dissuade anyone from reading it but I would not recommend it to any of my friends.
This is a short, sweet, and simple book by one of my favorite children's book authors. However, I wouldn't expect a child to read this book. The story may be written simply, but the ideas are sophisticated. Still it's heartwarming, and a good read just before bedtime.
We read this book in my Language Arts class with my fifth grade students. This is a great book for practicing Inferencing, but it isn't the most thrilling book. The premise is that the Van Gogh cafe is magical and that interesting things are always happening there.
I love short stories and I love bits of magic that appear in the real world. The way Rylant strings together tiny tales about magic in the Cafe is magic itself. It's a warm and fuzzy book when you need a cup of coffee and a slice of lemon meringue pie.
Aug 22, 2012
Heather
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
sara k sterner
Shelves:
2012-reads,
fiction
We listened to this little gem as we were driving to the coast. I'm not sure who enjoyed the tale of the Van Gogh cafe more; the parents or the children. The recording was about 1 hour, and it was full of imagination and loveliness.
I learned about this book through a middle school teacher. She uses the book to illustrate the many examples of figurative language used by the author. Rylant's use of author's craft in this book is an inspiration to any young writer.
Beautiful novella; read it in about a half hour and then had to go back and reread it. One of the best books I've read in a long time. Rylant is able to convey sophisticated, complex ideas and emotions in very simple and memorable ways.
This book is NOT a second-grade chapter book as several of you have suggested. It is an amazing story that's much too deep for elementary students or even middle-schoolers. Read it again and open you mind if you don't see that!
I didn't really know what to expect out of this one, but I can say I was delighted. A magical story of Clara who lives with her father-they own a little cafe where special things happen. I absolutely LOVED the ending!
Loved the imagination and visualization of the book. Will use with Evan- when he's ready-- to help his reading brain go outside the box. No serious plot here, just a fanciful book. Really liked it. Maybe 4-5 grade
This was a really quick little read with a fun series of vignettes taking place in the cafe. Reminds me a bit of Judy Cox's Weird stories from the lonesome cafe (only much more sophisticated). Nice little ah book.
Literally short and sweet, charming and mysterious. We read this out loud in my young adult fiction class, and with every paragraph, every word, I found myself wishing that I had written something like this.
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An author of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for children and young adults as well as an author and author/illustrator of picture books for children, Cynthia Rylant is recognized as a gifted writer who has contributed memorably to several genres of juvenile literature. A prolific author who often bases her works on her own background, especially on her childhood in the West Virginia mountains, she...more
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Mar 06, 2010 06:08pm