The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky's Abstract Art

A Caldecott Honor Book

Vasya Kandinsky was a proper little boy: he studied math and history, he practiced the piano, he sat up straight and was perfectly polite. And when his family sent him to art classes, they expected him to paint pretty houses and flowers—like a proper artist.
 
But as Vasya opened his paint box and began mixing the reds, the yellows, the blues, he heard a strange sound—the swirling colors trilled like an orchestra tuning up for a symphony! And as he grew older, he continued to hear brilliant colors singing and see vibrant sounds dancing. But was Vasya brave enough to put aside his proper still lifes and portraits and paint . . . music?
 
In this exuberant celebration of creativity, Barb Rosenstock and Mary GrandPré tell the fascinating story of Vasily Kandinsky, one of the very first painters of abstract art. Throughout his life, Kandinsky experienced colors as sounds, and sounds as colors—and bold, groundbreaking works burst forth from his noisy paint box.
 
Backmatter includes four paintings by Kandinsky, an author’s note, sources, links to websites on synesthesia and abstract art.

• Henri's Scissors
• Vincent Can't Sleep: Van Gogh Paints the Night Sky
• Action Jackson
• Through the Window: Views of Marc Chagall's Life and Art
• Keith Haring: The Boy Who Just Kept Drawing
• The Cat and the Bird: A Children's Book Inspired by Paul Klee (Children's Books Inspired by Famous Artworks)
• Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos (1)
• Henri Matisse: Drawing with Scissors (Smart About Art)
• Yayoi Kusama: From Here to Infinity!
• Art Masterclass with Wassily Kandinsky