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 realises there is more than one way to see the world. Artwork in the book uses vibrant colour and texture to bring the laneways, cafes, 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. AGES: 5-9 AUTHOR: Shane Peacock, biographer, journalist, and screenwriter, is also the author of six novels and three plays, and has been nominated for numerous awards including the Governor Generals Award, several National Magazine Awards, and the Arthur Ellis Award for crime fiction. He is the creator of the award-winning The Boy Sherlock Holmes series, and is now part of Seven (the series). When not writing, Shane Peacock enjoys playing hockey with his three children and watching sumo wrestling. ‘The Artist and Me’ is Shane’s first picture book. ILLUSTRATOR: Sophie Casson is a Montreal-based illustrator inspired by Ukioy-e (a genre of Japanese woodblock printing), pre-war era children’s books, post-war posters, and stencil art. She has been nominated for the Governor General’s award, as well as been honoured by Communication Arts, Applied Arts, and was runner-up for the Mr. Christie’s Book Award.
