A straightforward story with an obvious ending. The artwork is colorful and captures the styles of artists from many time periods. The illustrator's note, listing the artists who inspired his original paintings and noting that Rusty's palette is based on Whistler's and that the frames are from the Yale Center for British Art, could be a springboard to discover more about painting. It's fun to guess the artistic references. ( )

A great book for developing readers who are moving past the easier picture books but still want something enjoyable and entertaining. This is a wonderful book to read when teaching about art or careers related to art.

A young girl, Rusty, goes to an art museum where there are many paintings. There were two particular paintings that caught her attention. One of "The Kitchen Maid" and a "Portrait of a Young Gentleman." Rusty decided to paint the young gentleman. When she began to start painting his eyes she folloed them and saw they seemed to be looking at the kitchen maid. The museum was closing so she had to leave. The paintings began to tlak to each other. While the museum was closed employees moved pictures around and move the kitchen maid into a different room. When Rusty came back she decided to paint the kitchen maid and the young gentleman in the same picture.

Rusty, a young girl loves visiting the art museum. One day she brings her canvas and paint brushes to the museum and decides to paint a picture of the kitchen maid, her favorite painted. She paints all day and the paintings talk to her. When she finishes she hangs her painting on the wall in her favorite room.

This book was a good read and had a lot of rich vocabulary, but it did not keep my attention. It would not be a very good read for anything but maybe an art lesson. It would be boring for kids because there is no adventure.