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Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite
“A line is a dot that went for a walk.” I love this quote from Paul Klee, artist extraordinaire. It’s obvious that author Valerie Downs loves this quote too as it’s the foundation for a delightful children’s story, What Paul Made. When young Paul goes for a walk, he takes his dot with him. They explore the world with the innocence of childhood imagination, from the color of the sun to the color of the red apple high on the tree. To this end, another Klee quote comes to mind: “Color possesses me. I don’t have to pursue it. It will pursue me always, I know it.” I think Klee’s dot, which goes for a walk and becomes a line, is also pursued by color.
Valerie Downs's picture book, What Paul Made: A Story About a Young Paul Klee, is a delightful introduction to one of the great artistic minds of the early twentieth century. Sadly, not many people understand or appreciate Klee’s work, but this author presents it with the same imaginative insight as the artist did in his paintings. This simple story follows young Paul and his dot as they create an abstract image of their adventurous journey, concluding with a return home and the equally simple statement: “Look, Dot … Look! Look at what we made.” And Dot and Klee study an amazing work of art, all imagined and created from a walk … and a dot, of course. The book ends with an art project to inspire young minds to think with their imaginations like Klee did. I loved it!
