Vincent van Gogh is now known as an acclaimed, incomparable Post-Impressionist painter. But when he lived in Arles, France, in the 1880s, he was mocked for being different. Back then, van Gogh was an eccentric man with wild red hair who used clashing hues to paint unusual-looking people and strange starry skies. Children and adults alike called him names and laughed at him. Nobody bought his art. But he kept painting. Inspired by these events, The Artist and Me is the fictional confession of one of van Gogh’s bullies—a young boy who adopted the popular attitude of adults around him. It’s not until the boy faces his victim alone that he realizes there is more than one way to see the world. Artwork in the book uses vibrant color and texture to bring the laneways, cafés, and wheat fields of southern France to life while playing on scenes from van Gogh’s own work. The lyrical text carries the emotional weight of the subject and will leave readers with the understanding that everyone’s point of view is valuable.
Author
Shane Peacock was born in 1957 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, one of four brothers. He attended school in the northern town of Kapuskasing, Ontario, before attending university, where he studied History and English literature. A biographer, journalist, and screenwriter, he is also the author of eighteen novels, a picture book and three plays, and has been won and/or been nominated for numerous awards including two Arthur Ellis Awards for crime fiction, the Geoffrey Bilson Award for historical fiction, the Violet Downey Award, the Libris Award, seven times honored with Junior Library Guild of America selections, and has been on three shortlists for the Canadian Children's Literature Award, and one for the Governor-General's Award. His books have been published in 20 languages in 18 countries. He and his wife, journalist Sophie Kneisel live in Cobourg, Ontario and have two daughters and a son. Series: * The Dylan Maples Adventures * The Boy Sherlock Holmes The Dark Missions of Edgar Brim The Seven Series Awards: Arthur Ellis Award ◊ Best Juvenile (2008): Eye of the Crow The Arthur Ellis (2013) The Violet Downey Award The Libris Award The Geoffrey Bilson Award The Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Award Anne Izard Storyteller Choice Award Junior Library Guild of America Selection (7 times) Governor-General's Award (shortlist) TD Canadian Children's Literature Award (shortlist)
