The Van Gogh Cafe
By: Cynthia Rylant
I gasped, I laughed out loud, and I smiled when I read Cynthia Rylant's Van Gogh Cafe. Even though I am not a typical fan of the fantasy/science fiction novels (I have never read the Harry Potter book series...I've tried reading the first book, but I just can't get into the series), I found myself completely enjoying this book.
"And then the real magic happens. The magic Clara is waiting for." Each time I read this line, I continued to think... the real magic, isn't what has already happened in the book so far, "real" magic. For example, when I read about Marc's poetry that predicted the future, and the suddenly appearing lemon meringue pies, I continued to think, this is magic, what else could be in store for me?! But, as I read on, the events continued to grow in excitement and wonder. "No way," I kept saying to myself. Of course, Rylant's foreshadowing at the end of each chapter also kept me at the edge of my seat, quickly turning pages, "Perhaps when lightening strikes," or "the door opens and in walks the writer."
I can't decide which magical event was my favorite - the multiplying muffins, or the love between Emerald and the gull. I especially liked the way the multilying muffins saved the day for the children in the blizzard. Furthermore, I couldn't help but laugh at the collected winter apperal that was shared between the neighborhood cat and the gull, and pages later, reading how their love had attracted the 20 bags of mail. Then, I was just thrilled to read that the bags of mail were consummed by 50 gulls who were heading to California on top of moving truck!
I particularly enjoyed that the magic of the story was wrapped around a former theatre, now presently a cafe run by a father and daughter. It felt as if each character in the story found an inner peace at the cafe, but yet were inspired by it's magic. Thinking of An Angel for Solomen Singer, and how the man's dreams were "granted," and his life was changed by the cafe, I realized that many lives were touched by magical Van Gogh cafe, run by Marc and Clara.
Since the beginning of our class, I have started bringing in my chapter books to share with my students. I update them on the books I am reading, how far along I am, what I think of the characters, and my recommendations. Although I would like to read aloud Bridge, Desperaux, and now Van Gogh Cafe, I can't seem to squeeze in the minutes during the day... so until can steal the time to read from my chapter books, I've instead sharing titles and events from the books. My students' interest were peeked as they anxiously listened as I shared the first events of magic from the Van Gogh Cafe. On day, I would like to share this book with my students so they, too, can enjoy the surprises of "real" magic!
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5 comments:
Now that's a recommendation! Any book that makes a teacher gasp and laugh out loud must be great!
I love that you want to share these books with your students! I wish I had a captive audience to read to, sharing books that I have enjoyed reading. No one else around me seems to appreciate my excitement and thrill of finding great children's literature. This book might not be one of the ones I will tell those who are uninterested about anyway, but I think it would be a fun read aloud for my future students.
I also found myself drawn into what would happen next at the end of each chapter. However, I had a hard time buying into the magic. I enjoy books like the Giver or Harry Potter more because an entirely different world is imagined. I couldn't quite believe it was magic that led to all the vignettes in Van Gogh Cafe when the setting and people were realistic.
I have not read this book yet. Your review has encouraged me to runout and get it right away. I love anything that makes me laugh.
I enjoyed the gull story, too! My mind summoned up images of gulls wearing sunglasses and looking like feathery versions of the California raisins. The Van Gogh Cafe is definitely a fun read!
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