Brush of the Gods

With storytelling flair, Look expertly narrates this enthralling tale about a painter in ancient China whose art fills people with such awe that they claim he has the "brush of the gods." As a young boy, Wu Daozi tries calligraphy, but instead of characters, animals come out of his brush. Eventually he paints beautiful pictures on walls while moving "so fast that his sleeves looked like wings spread in flight," and one day his creations become so realistic that they take off as soon as they're painted. Encouraged by beggar children who (unlike the unbelieving adults) admire his art even when it runs away, Wu Daozi keeps painting, and years later the emperor invites him to create a grand masterpiece on a giant wall in the palace. An old man by the time he finishes, Wu Daozi blissfully walks through an archway in his painting and disappears -- a satisfying conclusion to a story about the power of art. An author's note at the front provides information on the real Wu Daozi (689-759), "known as perhaps China's greatest painter," and describes the book as a fictional version of his life "pieced together from references" in poetry and essays. So's invigorating art, full of graceful brush strokes, perfectly suits a story about the first Chinese artist to introduce "movement in figures and their clothing." jennifer m. brabander