Noonie's Masterpiece - for the artist in you (ages 8 - 11)

Do your kids love to doodle? Draw? Daydream? Do they ever feel like nobody understands them? Noonie's Masterpiece is a book for kids who love escaping into their drawings and daydreams, but still want a best friend and a teacher who understands them. This short novel will appeal to budding artists who know how hard it is to take risks, share your artwork and make friends.

Noonie's Masterpiece
by Lisa Railsback
illustrations by Sarajo Frieden
CA: Chronicle Books, 2010
ages 8 - 11
available on Amazon

Ten year old Noonie Norton is an artist just waiting to be discovered. She’s sure of it. But no one else understands her. Not her Aunt Sylvia or Uncle Ralph, whom she lives with. Not her math teacher Mrs. Tusk or Principal Maloney. Perhaps the only people who can glimpse Noonie’s creative potential are her art teacher Ms. Lilly and her best friend Reno. Noonie’s mother died five years ago, and now Noonie’s father is in faraway China examining fossilized wild yak bones. But Noonie feels a strong bond with her artistic mother, and has started her Purple Phase.

Noonie's Masterpiece was originally written as a play, and Noonie’s voice is fresh and full of life. The illustrations are a delight, adding texture and imbuing the story with creative energy and a fresh, contemporary look. This is not a graphic novel or a novel with occasional illustrations, but rather a highly illustrated novel with full color pen and ink drawings on nearly every page. Here are a few samples:

Kids who like short novels like Ivy and Bean will enjoy Noonie's Masterpiece. Kids will relate to Noonie's struggle to make friends in school. But they'll also be drawn to Noonie's resilience and determination to create artwork that is true to her spirit.  You can get a taste for this story in this book trailer:



The review copy was kindly provided by Chronicle Books. If you make a purchase on Amazon using the links here, a small portion will go to Great Kid Books. Thank you for your support.