Masterpiece Mix

“Today I will make a new painting,” declares an artist with cropped hair and glasses (she bears a strong resemblance to Munro herself), before noting the supplies she uses and the inspiration she gathers from the artwork around her. The artist’s pleasantly cluttered studio features reproductions of dozens of works of art from Cassatt, Gauguin, Vermeer, and other artists (the images were digitized by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.). Munro touches on possible subjects—still lifes, portraits, landscapes—and a closing cityscape lets eagle-eyed readers spot the 37 featured paintings, drawings, and sculptures on buildings, vehicles, and elsewhere; the works of art are discussed in greater detail in end notes. Rather than focus on a finished masterpiece, Munro makes it clear that the process of making art begins long before the first brush stroke. Ages 4–7. (Aug.)