Books in Art Encounters series

• Sci-fi author Mike Resnick has won more awards than Ray Bradbury or Isaac Asimov• Leonardo da Vinci, star of the best-selling The Da Vinci Code, is hot• Time travel, adventure, humor—Lady with an Alien is an Art Encounters tour de force!Lady with an Ermine, Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of a patron’s mistress holding the symbol of her lover’s family, is perhaps his most beautiful painting. But…is that what ermines really look like? Mike Resnick, the author of Hugo Award winners Kirinyaga and Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge, presents an exciting reimagining of this great painting in his first-ever book for young adults. The time-traveling hero, Mario Ravelli, develops a unique friendship with Leonardo da Vinci during a vacation from 2523 A.D. The story of how Mario’s pet becomes the lady’s ermine makes for an intriguing, entertaining journey to Renaissance Italy, and gives a unique look at the work and the creative process of a great master.

A mysterious addition to Encounter and Barko's superhero team is leaving more questions than answers! Who is Champion? Why did he become a hero, and how does he know so much about Encounter? Is he just another villain sent by their arch nemesis? Barko's sure his and Encounter's team of two doesn't need a third, but when they fight villains Staremaster and Deconstructinator, Champion might just save the day. With the villain behind it all getting closer to the pods, Encounter must protect his friends and learn his arch nemesis's true identity. It'll be a blast from the past!

A haunting story about growing up and accepting life's challenges—and its joysThe great Chinese artist Zhu Qizhan was born in 1892 and lived to be 105 years old. During his life, he witnessed the Boxer Rebellion, the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the civil war between the Nationalists and the Communists, the Sino-Japanese War, Japan's occupation of China during World War II, the Cultural Revolution...a full lifetime indeed, packed with struggle, love, conflict, and always, art. In 1992, when Deep in the Mountains begins, Zhu, the teller of tales, is 100 years old, still pushing himself to create, still experimenting with form and color. A lonely boy from the other side of the earth enters Zhu's world. Through the artist's stories of the past, the present, and the future, the boy learns who he is and what he can become in this beautiful, haunting story of growing up and accepting life's challenges—and its joys.• Multicultural appeal, features renowned Chinese artist Zhu Qizhan• Moving story of connection across the generations by critically acclaimed author• Blends China's history in the 20th century with a compelling modern-day tale

Art Encounters brings the work of famous artists to life through thrilling and evocative stories that reflect the individual paintings featured. This new series of historical fiction introduces young readers to the styles, methods, techniques, and influences of great painters.History and fiction merge in this uplifting novel about a boy whose artistic talent awaits a great mind to uncover it. A child of the Depression, Parker begins his relationship with O'Keeffe by stealing her property, notably a camera. She is prepared to let him rot in jail when she develops the photos he has taken with the stolen camera and recognizes the boy's raw ability. Set against the backdrop of New Mexico's stark beauty, Parker's struggle to find his artistic vision clashes with O'Keeffe's fierce independence and private nature. Parker tries to connect with his surroundings through the use of a camera, while O'Keeffe uses it as an aid for finding points of view otherwise difficult to obtain. This book is a literary interpretation of O'Keeffe's painting Ram's Skull with Brown Leaves, as well as an intimate look at the artist's fame, her relationship with Alfred Stieglitz, and her creative process.Georgia O'Keeffe in New MexicoGeorgia O'Keeffe's single greatest inspiration was the New Mexican desert. She went "half mad with love for the place." There O'Keeffe collected the dry, white animal bones scattered over the desert, and painted her first "bone" paintings, including Ram's Skull with Brown Leaves.After 1934, she returned to New Mexico every summer, moving there permanently after the death of her husband, the art impresario Alfred Stieglitz.When O'Keeffe visited the Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico, she knew immediately that she wanted to live there. Later, she bought and restored an abandoned hacienda nearby. Although failing eyesight forced her to stop painting with oil in the 70's, she continued to use pencil and watercolor. Active long into her later years, O'Keeffe died in 1986 at the age of 98.• For readers ages 12 and up• The first book in the new Art Encounters series• The story is based around O'Keeffe's painting Ram's Skull with Brown Leaves (Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell, NM)• Georgia O'Keeffe is one of the top five most studied artists in American schools

Mike Resnick is a science fiction god—more awards than any other writer in his field! Salvador Dali's The Persistence of Memory is one of the most memorable images in the world. Everyone who sees this painting wonders: What does it mean? Now the surrealist masterpiece is at the center of a compelling science-fiction story from world-renowned author Mike Resnick. Resnick's first entry in the Art Encounters series, Lady with an Alien: An Encounter with Leonardo da Vinci, was named a Best Book of the Year by the Columbus Dispatch and was called "a most successful encounter!" by Kliatt. Now his remarkable new tale reveals the connection between Dali's celebrated painting and quantum physics...because, it turns out, Dali often traveled to an alternate universe, where he got a lot of his ideas from a young girl named Jinx. Meet Jinx in World Behind the Door, along with Sigmund Freud, Werner Heisenberg, and other historical characters, and discover the shadowy, strange world where all the clocks look like they’re melting. • Entertaining story of alternate universes• Packed with intriguing ideas and characters• Great for school or summer reading

• A page-turner about growing up and facing hidden fears• Sargent, an American painter, is a favorite in schools • Featured painting is located in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston—great field trip tie-in!Everyone who looks at The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, the grand-scale painting by John Singer Sargent that hangs in Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, is drawn into its mysteries. Who are these four girls, dressed in prim pinafores? Why is the composition so far off balance? Why are two of the girls cloaked so completely in shadows that their “portraits” are little more than ghostly ciphers? Author Douglas Rees explores the complexities of this masterpiece with a psychological thriller that lets Sargent himself tell the story behind the canvas. When one of the girls scratches the words “HELP US” on a scrap of drawing paper, Sargent realizes that he alone has the power to save them. Will the great portraitist paint the girls as they appear—or will he show the reality of their dark, mysterious lives?

A Junior Library Guild Selection"A haunting, deeply affecting book. Set on the island of Tahiti, this story of artist Paul Gauguin and the young man he immortalized in his paintings reads like a tropical breeze—easy and relaxed at first feel, but hinting at dangerous storms brewing ahead. Highly recommended."—Brent Hartinger, author of The Order of the Poison Oak and The Last Chance TexacoThis second book in the new Art Encounters series centers on Paul Gauguin's painting Landscape with Peacocks, or Matamoe, and recreates the world the artist found in Tahiti when he painted the picture in 1892.This action-packed South Sea adventure is about a young sailor, Joe Sloan, and his mission to avenge the death of his friend, Robert. Joe searches for Robert's girlfriend, a Tahitian girl named Tehane, to deliver the sad news personally. He doesn't have to go far before fate reunites him with his friend's killer, the Marquesan warrior, Gun, and his evil master, a man known as the White Wolf. As Joe navigates the unknown territory of Tahiti and its people, he finds an unlikely ally in French artist Paul Gauguin. In the course of the story, readers are introduced to Gauguin and his work, the artist's relationships with the Tahitian natives, and his artistic temperament. Paul Gauguin in TahitiPaul Gauguin spent his life searching for paradise, a propensity that must have been set during his vagabond youth spent sailing around the world. He became a painter relatively late in life, with encouragement from Pissarro, Cézanne, and other impressionists.Ever the outsider, Gauguin left France and sailed for Tahiti in 1891 to escape debt and ruin, as well as "everything that is artificial and conventional." But to his deep disappointment, Tahiti was not the tropical paradise he had imagined. It had been thoroughly westernized.Nonetheless, he settled in Papeete and created some of his finest paintings. He had not found the simplicity of primitive life, so he painted it in such works as Landscape with Peacocks, or Matamoe.Except for one visit to France, he remained in the South Pacific for the rest of his life.• For readers 12 and up• The second book in the new Art Encounters series• Gauguin is frequently studied in elementary school because of the importance of his art to the post-impressionist period• The story is based around Gauguin's painting Landscape with Peacocks, or Matamoe (Pushkin Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia)

Is the bride pregnant? Why does the groom look so old? What's reflected in the mirror? The Arnolfini Wedding is surely the most hotly debated painting of the Northern Renaissance—and one of the most beloved. In this historical novel, E. M. Rees weaves a rich story of love and honor that answers the questions about this great picture. At her first visit to the Duke's court, young Giovanna Cenami falls in love with a mysterious stranger employed by the famous Flemish painter Jan van Eyck. But Giovanna's romantic dreams are shattered when her father tells her she must marry a rich merchant to save them all from financial ruin. When she decides to pursue her own dreams, defying her family, she finds herself in grave danger of losing her reputation, her honor—and perhaps her life.• The Arnolfini Wedding is one of the most famous and most debated paintings in the world• Ties in to art curriculum and world history studies

• Mike Resnick’s first story outside the science-fiction genre• Compelling story of overcoming obstacles• Toulouse-Lautrec’s lively posters and art are popular with young adultsAt the cabarets and brothels of Montmartre, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is a well-known visitor. Brilliant, rich, and deformed, Toulouse-Lautrec carries on flirtations and relationships with many women—prostitutes as well as famous singers and dancers. In A Club in Montmartre, renowned writer Mike Resnick imagines the lonely artist meeting a starving waif, Dany, at the famous Moulin Rouge. Dany, like so many before her, falls under the spell of the dissolute can-can dancer known as La Goulue. Toulouse-Lautrec wages a Faustian battle with La Goulue for the young girl’s soul even as he is losing the battle for his own, slipping deeper and deeper into alcoholism and bitterness. This deeply felt story, Resnick’s first in a genre other than science fiction, captures the intensity of a genius caught between his limitations and his aspirations.

This is not just another book about Roswell. Rather, it's about the aftermath, the lifetime impact Roswell has had on the families who were forced to live with the suppressed truth and the fear of reprisal from a government sworn to protect them. Parents who were present during the incident may have passed on, but their children know what happened, and they have paid dearly for their knowledge. Included here are stories of tapped phones, government intimidation and attempted brainwashing, and unexplained disappearances. These are stories that force you to think about why the government would go to such lengths to keep these families quiet.