Mister Horrox and the Gratch (Picture Grasshopper Books) - Softcover

Reeves, James, And Blake, Quentin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0200719491 ISBN 13: 9780200719490

Publisher: Abelard-Schuman, 1973

Synopsis

The Gratch, a small, invisible, mischievous spirit that inhabits a holiday cottage in Scotland and likes to play with string, helps Mr. Horrox the painter to move from realism to abstract art.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

This droll, slyly moralistic tale offers a subtle message about conformity and artistic perception: apparently abstraction, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Though the pictures painted by Mr. Horrox are "very lifelike," his dealer, Mr. Smart, informs him that patrons are weary of "farmyards and cottage doors with roses around them." Undaunted, the Englishman sets out for the fresh fields--and fresh inspiration--of Scotland, where he is cautioned about the Gratch, a playful, 100-year-old sprite. Soon canvases show signs of sabotage in the form of harum-scarum scribblings; unlike Mr. Horrox himself, readers can gleefully identify the culprit at once. Mr. Smart visits, and approves: "They're most interesting . This is just what people want nowadays-- abstracts ." When the truth dawns on Mr. Horrox, he procures some string (the Gratch's instrument of choice) and becomes "even better than the invisible wee spirit." Rendered in a mix of full color and black-and-white, Blake's fey artwork captures the slapdash surroundings of a lovable eccentric. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Abelard-Schuman
• Publication date: 1973
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0200719491
• ISBN 13: 9780200719490
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32