"There was something about looking at Starry Night from the inside that made him feel as though his chest were opening up - in a good way. It was like recovering a sense of wonder he used to have about the world."
Have you heard about Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience? Van Gogh's art is projected onto the walls, moving and swirling, and visitors get to walk around in it. Isn't that awesome? We haven't gone, but I have done the next best thing. I read Beneath the Swirling Sky.
Twelve-year-old Vincent (named after you-know-who) used to love painting, but after a scarring experience with criticism, he's decided to give it up. Forever. He tries to avoid even looking at art... so, it's quite by accident that he falls into Starry Night! Vincent discovers his family makes up the last of the Restorationists, who have the ability to Travel through paintings. They use their gifts to protect art from being distorted or destroyed. He now has two new problems: 1) His parents have hidden this whole mysterious world from him, and 2) his little sister has disappeared into it! Vincent and his weird cousin Georgia have no choice but to go on a rescue mission that gets much more complicated - and dangerous - than simply wandering through paintings. "Let's just say art isn't always safe."
If the door vault scene from Monsters Inc. tripped over The Mysterious Benedict Society and landed in wet paint, that would give you a pretty good idea of what Beneath the Swirling Sky feels like. I'll give you fair warning: some parts were a little confusing, and Vincent can be kind of annoying sometimes. (Though Georgia easily makes up for it.) The whole process of Traveling comes with a lot of rules, but be patient! I got completely sucked in and found myself loving it. The adventure is thrilling, and the author has some brilliant ideas - like sending her characters into Biblical paintings! That's my favorite part. And I have to say, the book did give me a better appreciation for art.
Are you ready to step into a painting?
"But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our potter; we are all the work of Your hand." - Isaiah 64:8
Bonus: Book two, Between Flowers and Bones, is coming this fall!
(My sister did the painting. She likes the book too!)