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BOOK REVIEW | Miro's Magic Animals

Miro's Magic Animals by Antony Penrose.


Joan Miro was a surrealist artist from Barcelona in Spain.  The author, Antony Penrose, knew Miro as a child - he was a friend of the  author's parents, who were also surrealists artists but from Sussex in England.  Here is Miro in his later years.





Antony Penroses's book is a mixture of biography, picture book and his own family story, with an interactive element.  Children have drawn animals inspired by Miro, and these illustrations are included in the book for readers to find.  Miro's paintings are described on the pages with an invitation to look closer into each painting and find some hidden surprises or talk about the way he has painted things.


The author talks about this farm painting, encourages readers to notice the "neat rows" of vegetables growing there, and talks about what the painting made him feel and think about.

This is a brilliant introduction to Miro, but also a great introduction to art - encouraging us to look closer at paintings and wonder what the artist was looking at, thinking, seeing or feeling.

We visited Barcelona last Summer, and I remember walking through the city and coming across a huge Miro sculpture.  I think we had to have a sit down by the edge of the pond surrounding the sculpture for a rest!  There's a Miro museum there too, in Parc Montjuic.


Published by Thames and Hudson, Miro's Magic Animals by Antony Penrose.  Enjoy!







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