Vincent Paints His House

by Tedd Arnold

In this playful picture book homage to artist Vincent van Gogh, a house gets a brilliantly colorful paint job.

Vincent is ready to paint his house. The only problem is choosing the color. He thinks white would be nice . . . until the spider convinces him that red is better. Red looks great, but the bird thinks blue would be best. Vincent likes blue too. "Stop!" says the mouse, because the mouse prefers green. Before long, Vincent has a list of requests: the termite wants orange, the caterpillar loves yellow and the ladybug insists on purple. With a little creativity—and a lot of color—Vincent does a brilliant job!

Genres: Picture Books, Art, Childrens, Storytime, Animals, Fiction, Humor

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2015

About the author

Tedd grew up with three brothers. His family lived on a farm in Pennsylvania for several years then returned to Elmira until Tedd was ten years old. His father's work then required that they move to Gainesville, Florida. There, Tedd's first art lessons in an abandoned dentist's office over the Happy Hour pool hall eventually led to a fine arts degree from the University of Florida.

He and his wife, Carol, started their family in Tallahassee where Tedd worked as a commercial illustrator. Carol, a kindergarten teacher, drew Tedd's attention to children's books. Their first son, Walter, inspired his breakthrough picture book, NO JUMPING ON THE BED!.

He and his family now live in Elmira. His second son, William, now stars in NO MORE WATER IN THE TUB!, a sequel to his first book. He has now published over 50 books as author and illustrator.

Reviews

[Dylan Teut · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all Tedd Arnold books, but this one was especially great. Simple, pattern text that will be great for beginning readers, and a great way to explore different shades of colors and their names. Bravo, Tedd. This is a new favorite.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vincent's efforts to paint his house are complicated by all the little creatures who share it with him - the spider, the caterpillar, the beetle, the bird, the butterfly, the snake, the mouse, and the bat - and their demands that he choose the various colors that they prefer. In the end, he incorporates all of their suggestions, painting a house that is truly his...

A sweet little picture-book tribute to the artist Vincent Van Gogh, and his bold use of swirling color - the final scene shows a sky that looks very much like the one in the painting The Starry Night - Vincent Paints His House pairs colorful, cartoon-like illustrations with a fun, repetitive text. I particularly liked that Vincent's reaction to each color suggested is positive, and that a variety of shades within each color are represented in palette he uses. Recommended to young artists and art-lovers.

[Milton Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book transports us to Vincent's house on the day he decides to paint it. This book pays homage to the artist himself, Vincent van Gogh. As Vincent begins painting his house he encounters various animals who also live on his house that have differing opinions as to which color to paint it. Not only are all the colors of the rainbow mentioned as options, but we learn through the process different names for different colors. If you are interested in art and painting this is a great introduction for all young readers! Learning the different names for colors is fun, along with seeing how Vincent's house turns out in the end. Be sure to read all the way to the end of the book to get a fun view of one of Vincent's most famous paintings "Starry Night." I definitely recommend this book!

Find it today: https://ent.sharelibraries.info/clien...

Ashley C. / Milton Public Library #CheckOutMPL

[Vang Xiong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. The hidden message within this book, I think, is the notion of sharing and community building. Vincent’s task is to paint his house anew. As he goes about doing so, he is encountered with various animals, who, too, resides within the exterior of his home, each claiming that they should be entitled to paint the color of their choosing. I really enjoy how flexible Vincent is portrayed in this book. Vincent agrees with each animals, and paints different sections of his house according to the color choice of the animals he comes across. The end results is a rainbow house, of which, Vincent is complete satisfy with. In addition, the discussion and illustrations of the various colors is great for introducing the spectrum in which colors are grouped. Great book overall.

[Vernon Area Public Library KIDS · Rating 5 out of 5]

The creator of Fly Guy has done it again with his colorful picture book. Vincent has a problem with painting his house….he can’t decide on color. He starts with white but then changes his mind as he runs into variety of creatures (spider likes red; bird thinks red; mouse suggests green; termite orange; caterpillar loves yellow; ladybug wants purple). Before he knows it he has a laundry list of requests. With a little ingenuity and lots of color he completes the paint job. This book pays homage to Vincent VanGogh without ever mentioning his full name. Parent and teachers will relish the opportunity to share this book to develop projects, discuss color or a kid friendly introduction to the painter himself.

Reviewed by: Emily MacNiff, Youth Services, Vernon Area Public Library

[miyopastronot · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Yellow is nice," said Vincent.

Bu kadar "basit" anlatımlı bir çocuk (?) kitabına tabii ki Vincent için düştüm fakat Allah var, beğendim.
Çizerin tarzı aşşşırı tatlıymış. O yüzden şimdi tüm arkadaşlarımı darlayacağım baksanıza buna diye. Hatta gidip diğer kitaplarına falan göz atalım ki, vizyonumuza zeval geldiğine değsin.
askdfshdşkfşskghsk gülmeyin, ileride çoluk çocuğa karışınca lazım oluhuhuhuh.

Filiz, ne diyorsun bu işe?

[Cindy Dobrez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who loves the color names on crayons will love this easy reader exploration of color with repetitive text introducing animals and basic colors while providing paint tubes with exotic shades to show nuance. A fun tribute to Vincent Van Gogh, too.

[Adrianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vincent could read this book about Vincent all by himself! (My boy is becoming a reader!!!)

[Briana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Basic colors is about all you will get from this book.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cut story about color.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love all of the names introduced for different shades of color.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Vincent Paints His House” written and illustrated by Tedd Arnold is a picture book intended for children ages 3 – 6, in preschool through second grade. When famous artist Vincent Van Gogh decides to paint his house, he gets a lot of unsolicited advice about color choice from the friendly critters that live with him. The reader experiences an entire palette of colors, spanning the rainbow.
Because of the exquisite artwork, I rated this colorful tale five stars. Every time a color is suggested, Arnold uses sweeping lines to accentuate the beautiful variations of that shade. It’s a great way to expose children to the vast spectrum of colors, developmentally expanding the scope of awareness in the early reader. The specified color on each page is vibrant while the characters and house are portrayed with neutral shades in order to draw attention to the palette. The text labels each shade, also bolstering vocabulary while keeping kids engaged. The story closes with the house painted in the style of Van Gogh’s artwork, exposing readers further to an important part of art culture. This could easily be used in a school setting to learn colors incorporated into an art lesson, with many opportunities to practice tone and shade in art projects. Young readers enjoy learning colors making this an engaging, interactive book that appeals to their curious minds.

[Marathon County Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book transports us to Vincent's house on the day he decides to paint it. This book pays homage to the artist himself, Vincent van Gogh. As Vincent begins painting his house he encounters various animals who also live on his house that have differing opinions as to which color to paint it. Not only are all the colors of the rainbow mentioned as options, but we also learn through the process different names for different colors. If you are interested in art and painting this is a great introduction for all young readers! Learning the different names for colors is fun, along with seeing how Vincent's house turns out in the end. Be sure to read all the way to the end of the book to get a fun view of one of Vincent's most famous paintings "Starry Night." I definitely recommend this book!

Ashley C. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

[Juliet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once Vincent, our main character, decides to paint his house white, he is interrupted by a series of opinionated creatures that live around him. From spiders to snakes, they all chime in on their favorite house color prompting Vincent to change his mind each time. At the end, Vincent, in true artist fashion, throws all the colors on the house and everyone is happy. Drawn in a very simple style, Arnold creates a a cozy, approachable character in Vincent (with both his ears and never without his brush). The font is casual and resembles children's printing. Illustrations take the whole page and have a nice perspective, varying closeups of paint and parts of the house. Another nice feature of the book is in close ups of the paint colors and their various shades. For example, when the butterfly insists on painting the house orange, the next page features four paint colors with their labels (Henna, Cadmium, Tangerine, and Peach).
Preschoolers and early elementary will enjoy this book especially before an art lesson like mixing colors.

[Tabatha Krieger · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Vincent Paints His House” is a brilliant book about colors that both toddlers and preschoolers will enjoy. One day Vincent decides to paint his house but can’t decide on the color. The bird, the mouse, the spider, caterpillar, beetle, butterfly, snake, and bat all have their favorite colors. What will Vincent do? Well, Vincent likes all the colors, and everyone is happy to live in his beautiful, colorful home.
Full of shades of color like ivory, vermillion, ochre, and cerulean, “Vincent Paints His House” is unique among color learning books that focus mainly on primary colors. There is also a wonderful homage to Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night at the end of the book. Even if your child already has colors down pat, (and if they are under six they probably don’t according to this article (It’s a fun read so check it out): https://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...) this one is worth the read.
Check out my blog for some fun toddler activities inspired by the book: www.happilyeverreading.com/Vincent-pa...

[Teresa Bateman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tedd Arnold's typical bug-eyed illustrations give this simple book just the added oomph it needs to get by. Vincent (obviously Van Gogh) is about to paint his house. White seems nice, but gradually others--a spider, a bat, a beetle and more--offer their own opinions. Vincent appreciates each of their color suggestions and finally finds the perfect solution. What makes this particularly fun is that, at each color suggestion, Vincent sees four paint tubes, flowing against a palette, each with variations on that color. For example, for yellow the tubes are canary, amber, lemon, and ochre. That makes this book a terrific vocabulary builder as children learn the nuances of colors. The ending picture with a starry starry night outside a multi-colored house is just perfect. Schools will want this book in their collections.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes too much advice, even if it has good intentions, can cause problems or make someone indecisive. In this tribute to artist Vincent Van Gogh, the painter is all set to freshen up his house with a new coat of paint. As he decides to use white, he is interrupted by a series of creatures, all with their own suggestions for what color the house should be. Each time, he accepts the color choice and loads up his brush. Eventually, though, it dawns on him that the house everyone is claiming for their own is HIS house, and he can make the final choice. I like the repetitive nature of the story and how the house ultimately ends up using every suggested color for a unique look. The digital and Photoshop illustrations are handsome and humorous and bring a fresh perspective to the inspiration for Van Gogh's painting style.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a lovely story about "Vincent's" decision of what color to paint his house. With the collaboration of a spider, caterpillar, beetle, bird, butterfly, snake, mouse, and bat, Vincent the painter takes everyone's advice and paints his home with multi-colored brush strokes. Parents familiar with Van Gogh will recognize the feeling of Van Gogh's Yellow House in Arles, on the cover. Youngsters will love the repetitive sequence of critters in the story. The sophisticated names and colors of the tubes of paint will percolate in young artists' imagination. Bug eyed Vincent will be a hit for early readers and listeners, however it would have been great to have a simple mini biography about Vincent Van Gogh in the back of the book.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book transports us to Vincent's house on the day he decides to paint it. This book pays homage to the artist himself, Vincent van Gogh. As Vincent begins painting his house he encounters various animals who also live on his house that have differing opinions as to which color to paint it. Not only are all the colors of the rainbow mentioned as options, but we learn through the process different names for different colors. If you are interested in art and painting this is a great introduction for all young readers! Learning the different names for colors is fun, along with seeing how Vincent's house turns out in the end. Be sure to read all the way to the end of the book to get a fun view of one of Vincent's most famous paintings "Starry Night." I definitely recommend this book!

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Vincent" looks very much like Vincent Van Gogh, but is not mentioned specifically anywhere until "the end". Vincent wants to paint his house. He likes white. On the two-page spread, the left page shows 4 tubes of white paint, each with a different name: snow, ivory, titanium, and cream. The right side of the spread shows the house painted white. When you turn the page you meet another "critter" who is living in Vincent's house who likes another color and paints their part of the house with shades of that color. Each spread shows the 4 paint tubes with various color names and part of the house being painted with that color. I will not spoil the ending, but you must turn the page after "Everyone was happy!"

[Juliana Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Vincent decides to paint his house he takes out all his paints. But he can’t decide which color to use. At first he thinks he might want to paint it white, but is stopped by a spider who wants to paint the house red. Vincent thinks about all the different shades of red and thinks red is nice too. But the caterpillar wants him to paint it yellow, and the snake wants him to paint it green, and on it goes throughout the spectrum of the rainbow each animal wants the house a different color. Finally Vincent decides to use all of his paints and paints his house the way he wants it!
http://julianaleewriter.com/books-ali...

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a super simple book and doesn't really introduce you to Vincent vangogh. But what I liked about it was each page had an introduction to a different color with a few examples of different shades of the color and I was able to point out or ask the difference between them...so it helped my six-year-old pay more attention to the variance with in the same color.
And then at the end you see the colorful house placed within the starry night backdrop and it was helpful reinforcer of what Vincent van Gogh artwork looks like.
But again not much depth if you want to really get familiar with van Gogh.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

In another of Tedd Arnold’s wonderfully written and illustrated books. In this story, we meet Vincent (so amazingly cartoonized by Arnold) Van Gogh who must paint his house but is continually bugged (pun intended) by a spider, caterpillar, beetle, bird, butterfly, snake, mice, and bat as he determines the coloring of the house. A great story by itself, but a wonderful addition to any art class to bring in discussions of Vincent Van Gogh and his art, as well as the fact that red is not just red, and even black is not just black. Students will enjoy the multiple levels of this book, and teachers will love the fun that Arnold infuses into all of his books.

[Nancy Kotkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not an ordinary picture book about colors, which is why I like it so much. So you can't use this book to teach the colors, but you can show kids the nuances of hues and the fun of being colorful. This is also an entertaining story with an underlying message of compromise.

Unfortunately, you can't really differentiate the shades of white or black in the book the way you can in person. The big head is amusing but the bugged-out Fly Guy eyes look strange on a person, especially since he is supposed to be/resemble Vincent Van Gogh. I do like the large eyes on the insects/animals though, as they are cute. Love the ending and the very last page is a treat.

[Amy Hesterman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remember when you would open that fresh new box of Crayola crayons that had 64 crayons, plus the built-in sharpener? Remember picking out each perfectly shaped crayon and trying to pronounce the name of the color on the label? Crayola helped kids learn that there were many colors available to use besides your basic blue. Vincent, too, helps kids learn those names of colors that take something from red to crimson to scarlet. His heart is large enough to handle all the complaints of those who call the outside of his house "home."

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tedd Arnold's bug-eyed, big-headed characters always attract readers, and this is no exception. This title does, however, offer some bonus value by using a simple, patterned story to present the actual labels and samples of an artist's paint tubes, allowing even someone as art-limited as I am to identify the nuances among shades/pigments of a single color. The indirect reference to Vincent Van Gogh (and yes, I looked for a missing ear, although the story-Vincent has both of his) plays out on the story results and final endpaper homage to STARRY NIGHT.

[Mrs Mommy Booknerd http://mrsmommybooknerd.blogspot.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are crazy Tedd Arnold fans in our house!!! We once again fell in love with Vincent Paints His House! There is a problem. Vincent wants to paint it house, but is house in not only his house, it is the house to many other creatures! What comes about in this zany and fun story is compromise between everyone! I love that Arnold can take what seems like s a simple story and fill it with grand lessons! Such fun and a 5 star read!

[Emilee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is by same author who wrote Dirty Gert and Fix This Mess. It’s about a man who goes to paint his house. Many insects and critters interrupt him and suggest he paint the house their favorite color. The illustrations are quirky and drawn from fun perspectives. In the end he decides to paint all the different colors because he loves them all. He bears a striking resemblance to Vincent VanGogh.

[Manor Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vincent Paints His House by Tedd Arnold - A delightful book about Vincent who is about to paint his house. He finally decides on the color white, but while painting a spider tells him it’s her house and he has to paint it red. So Vincent begins to paint the house red when he comes upon another creature that wants him to paint his house a different color. This pattern continues throughout the book. Love how the author teaches new color words!

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read-aloud that goes like a folktale, going through various colors Vincent Van Gogh paints his house in accordance to the animals who live nearby and their color preferences. At the end, he paints it in his typical Impressionist style. Great quick segue into a lesson on Van Gogh and his art movement.