Summary of Book: This story is about the artist Matisse and a nurse who looked after him towards the end of his career. The nurse, Monique discovers the beauty in the multitude of colors displayed throughout Matisse’s home and they become good friends. Matisse even started to make paintings of Monique until one day when Monique had to leave and ended up joining a school for nuns. By happenstance, the artist and the girl reunite when Matisse moves to a new home. Matisse learns that the nuns need a new chapel and volunteers his time and money to make that happen; as it is completed the artist feels that he can finally rest.

Personal Reaction to the Book: I am not terribly familiar with Matisse’s works as an artist but I think this story is a great example of who he was as a man in life. I do know that he had a lot of tragic events befall upon him and his family and yet he carried on and helped others. I think that speaks volumes about a person when they are able to take all the negative things and make something positive out of it.

Extension Ideas:
1. Having many children that love to draw and color this year, I think it would be a great idea to allow children to study artists like Matisse and then have them create drawings or paintings from their own interpretation of his style.
2. Visit a local hospital with children to find out how nurses take care of people that suffer from an illness or condition. Discuss the special type of person it takes to be a nurse. ( )

matisse has to learn how to become an artist with disabilities
7 book

SUMMARY: A story about a nurse, Monique. How she meets a French artist named Henry Matisse while nursing him back to health, and how they become good friends.
PERSONAL REACTION: I think it would be a good book for children because it teaches them history, and it has lots of colors in the book.
EXTENSION IDEAS: Learn about geometric & organic shapes, and creating shapes on a computer paint program.

Laurence Anholt tells the story of Henri Matisse an artist that lived in Southern France from 1869 - 1954. This is the story of Matisse and the friendship he had with his nurse Monique Burgeois. After Monique became a nun they meet again and Matisse builds a beautiful chapel for Monique and the nuns. ( )

A frienship blossoms between an ill painter and his nurse. When the nurse goes off to be a nun, they run into one another again and the painter offers to build and decorate a chapel of color for his friend. This is based on the life of Henri Matisse and would be a good book to use for art lessons. ( )