Product Description

With her magic paintbrush, Shen can paint steaming pots full of fish and oysters to feed the hungry people in her village. When the evil emperor commands Shen to paint gold for him, she is determined to keep her promise to paint only for the poor.

Julia Donaldson’s vibrant verse brings fresh life to a traditional tale of how a little girl’s integrity can withstand the corruption of power and greed.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3535 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02-20
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

Review

‘The best recent picture book is the The Magic Paintbrush by Julia Donaldson . . . it is beautifully illustrated by Joel Stewart and wonderful to read aloud’ Daily Telegraph

About the Author

Julia Donaldson is one of the country’s foremost children’s writers. Her many books for Macmillan include the award-winning THE GRUFFALO (0 333 71092 4), ROOM ON THE BROOM (0 333 90337 4), A SQUASH AND A SQUEEZE (1 40500476 2 ), and THE SNAIL AND THE WHALE (0 333 98223 1), which will publish in September 2003. Julia is also much in demand for her brilliant events for children at schools, libraries and literary festivals.

Joel Stewart is one of Macmillan’s brightest stars. He graduated from Falmouth College of Arts with a first class degree and won the Macmillan Prize in 2000. He has illustrated the critically acclaimed UNDERWATER FARMYARD (HB 0 333 96063 7, PB 0333 96064 5), and the follow-up, MOON ZOO, which also publishes this month in hardback (1 405 02049 0).

Customer Reviews

Donaldson delights with a new direction
After discovering “The Gruffalo” by chance, our entire family was hooked on Julia Donaldson. All her books have strong, simple rhymes which are easy to read aloud – something other children’s authors could learn from.

“The Magic Paintbrush” carries on this tradition, but is altogether different. This time the illustration duties fall to Joel Stewart, instead of Donaldson’s long-time collaborator Axel Scheffler.

Stewart’s beautifully stylised illustrations bring a fresh and timeless feel to the story. It could appeal to a much older child than the bulk of Donaldson’s work, although younger readers will also be delighted.

The story itself is wonderfully simple and inventive. Shen, a young Chinese girl, is given an enchanted paintbrush – everything she paints becomes real. Without giving the story away, Shen cleverly puts the paintbrush to good use, refusing to let it be used by greedy people.

Like “The Smartest Giant in Town”, “Room on the Broom” and “The Gruffalo”, Donaldon’s message is handled with a light touch. Children don’t feel patronised and parents don’t feel they’re hammering home a point. After all, bedtime is for winding down – not moralising.

If you’re a fan of the author, please bear in mind that this story doesn’t use humour in the same way as her other books. That’s not to say there aren’t funny moments – but the overall feeling is that you’re reading a timeless fable rather than a modern “entertainment”.

Just three days in, it’s already destined to become a favourite in our household.

Lovely
My family have been big fans of Julia Donaldson since discovering 'The Gruffalo' two years ago.

The book is another very good book from Julia Donaldson but is quite different in style and content from the books that made her name - Gruffalo, Room on the Broom, Smartest Giant in Town etc

This time the illustrations are by Joel Stewart, rather than Axel Scheffler. In many ways the illustrations are even better than usual: they are beautiful and will appeal to children of all ages but they do not have the humour of Scheffler's work.

The story itself is wonderfully simple and engaging (as I read it I wondered if it was based on a traditional folk tale). As usual (for Donaldson) the story is told in verse with a simple rhyming scheme and a great rhythm that makes it a joy to read aloud.

For me, this book never hits the magical heights of her best work but it is still a wonderful book. It still satisfies the younger readers but it also appeals to a much older child.

A simply wonderful book!
If you're expecting The Gruffalo, think again! This is a touching and thought provoking tale, but told with a very light touch. It has a powerful message, yet never preaches.
My 4 year-old adored it from the first reading. She just saw the wonderful story and (as ever with JD's books) the fantastic rhythm of the verse. Older children will spot the value of the moral.
The illustrations are beautifully appropriate to the oriental story. The dragon is stunning!