brush of the gods. lenore look. meilo so. (172)

my friend chrissie posted on my facebook wall, an npr article, 8 picture books that make us wish we were a kid again. lenore look and meilo so's the brush of the gods was listed as one of the eight.

the brush of the gods is a truly beautiful book.  it is the story of wu daozi, a great chinese painter.  as a child, he took a calligraphy class but was unable to make characters because they always turned into beautiful creatures like fish or horses.  he then began painting murals and was called flying sleeves because that is what his sleeves looked like when he painted.

then one day his paintings start to become alive.  the monks called him a liar and people stopped following him, but the children were still in awe of his paintings.  it is then discovered that he had the brush of the gods.  the emperor then commissioned him for a great masterpiece. he worked until he became an old man.  he revealed his masterpiece, a painting of paradise, and then walked into it.  as the epilogue explained the mystery behind the year he died only adds to the myth that he walked into his painting.

a truly beautiful tale that is matched by even beautiful pictures.  here are my favorite but you should check it out to see it for yourself!

a book vending machine and "my ideal bookshelf".

i have often debated about whether i should post links to book-related things that i find. i decided not to because most of the time i would be posting links to flavorpill. (if you aren't on their mailing list you should join, they are a great source for neat stuff if you love books, art, music and film.) but . . .

my friend joann emailed me a link to an NPR article about the monkey paw's book vending machine! and it has to be shared. how cool, right?!?! i am a sucker for $1 book bins. so this is right up my alley. i also love the randomness of the books. you never know what you are going to get it! and i do agree this would be great for kids because it's almost like they are getting a toy. my brother will carry around a 25¢ vending machine toy like its gold, so i am sure the same would happen with a book. i would love to see this in bookstores. hmmm they should get on kickstarter.

i also decided to post a link to a flavorpill article about the ideal bookshelves of famous readers. the article is about the book "my ideal bookshelf" by thesslay la force and features adorable drawings of bookshelves. in the flavorpill article, james franco is featured. seriously can the boy be even more dreamier? he sat with marina abramović and loves "one hundred years of solitude" i mean can we say ideal man?!?! i mean the acting thing doesn't make me swoon but ho's art realm persona does. but back to the book, what a great idea? i might draw my ideal bookshelf for myself!