Mayhem at the Museum: A Book in Pictures

As a young girl and her classmates prepare to enter the renowned Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, a posted sign reminds them, “No touching the art.” While the children obediently follow the museum’s rule, they discover during their visit that the artwork on display doesn’t. As her teacher instructs her classmates in front of a work by John Singer Sargent, the girl is glancing at nearby Renoir’s Two Young Girls at the Piano, when suddenly the young pianist looks out from the painting and sticks her tongue out. More interactions continue as van Gogh’s self-portrait places his straw hat on the girl, apples roll from the white table cloth in Cézanne’s still life, and even the teacher is donned with Picasso’s bicorne. In the closing words that bookend the otherwise fittingly wordless tale, the sign from the beginning now reads “The art touches you!” Lozano’s fluid illustrations create a playful, energizing atmosphere where children might otherwise experience a stuffy, dry environment. The opening page showing the girl approaching the magnificent Met conveys awe and magnificence, while Lozano’s versions of the masterpieces within, though immediately recognizable, are presented with a youthful touch, bringing an enchanting appeal sure to pique young readers’ interest in the works and their own trip to an art museum.

Paintings and sculptures come to life when a young girl visits the Metropolitan Museum of Art with her classmates. What starts as just another tour of the museum becomes a joyful parade as the art, which must not be touched, touches the young museum-goers in surprising ways.

Images of works in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art are beautifully illustrated as dynamic characters by Luciano Lozano Raya in this wordless picture book. Famous paintings and sculptures from throughout the museum will be recognizable to adults while the mischievous breaking of the fourth wall will delight younger readers.