Hi Scroll down to
Print out a free Masterpiece Mix Lesson Plan or a coloring page.
Send a SASE for free bookmarks or personally signed bookplates.
Watch the YouTube video below for children and adults on the book,
and the great art and fascinating artists featured.
Learn how the book came to be in Holiday House's Spotlight Author Interview,
on Tara Lazar's blog, "Smack Dab in the Middle," and on Matthew Winner's
"All the Wonders" podcast. Occupational Therapist Jo Booth
did a darling 60-second video in her integrated classroom. Rocco Staino of KidLit TV did an interview with Roxie for their Storymakers program.
There's a fun article, with photos, by Eric Van Raepenbusch . His four kids did an art scavenger hunt based on the book at the National Gallery of Art , Washington DC. And Elizabeth Dulemba did an interview about how the book was created.
Check out Roxie's schedule - maybe she will be appearing near your town!
Get a signed Masterpiece Mix limited edition print.
Read great reviews for Masterpiece Mix.
Print out a free Masterpiece Mix Lesson Plan or a coloring page.
Send a SASE for free bookmarks or personally signed bookplates.
Watch the YouTube video below for children and adults on the book,
and the great art and fascinating artists featured.
Learn how the book came to be in Holiday House's Spotlight Author Interview,
on Tara Lazar's blog, "Smack Dab in the Middle," and on Matthew Winner's
"All the Wonders" podcast. Occupational Therapist Jo Booth
did a darling 60-second video in her integrated classroom. Rocco Staino of KidLit TV did an interview with Roxie for their Storymakers program.
There's a fun article, with photos, by Eric Van Raepenbusch . His four kids did an art scavenger hunt based on the book at the National Gallery of Art , Washington DC. And Elizabeth Dulemba did an interview about how the book was created.
Check out Roxie's schedule - maybe she will be appearing near your town!
Get a signed Masterpiece Mix limited edition print.
Read great reviews for Masterpiece Mix.
For a FREE 3-page LESSON PLAN from Holiday House, click here: http://www.holidayhouse.com//docs/Masterpiece_Mix_Lesson_Plan.pdf
Download and print out a FREE Masterpiece Mix
coloring sheet (click on Download File on right). 8.5x11 paper or 11x17 paper (best). Create your own art world! |
![]()
|
Did a YouTube video on great art and artists for CIlC (Center for Collaborative Learning) based upon MASTERPIECE MIX (Holiday House, publisher). For children and adults.
Click here: https://youtu.be/sXikh1revxc |
If you'd like some FREE Masterpiece Mix bookmarks, send a SASE (20 per envelope) to Roxie Munro Studio, 43-01 21st Street, #340, Long Island City, NY 11101
If you'd like FREE signed bookplates, send a SASE (12 per envelope) to Roxie Munro Studio, 43-01 21st Street, #340, Long Island City, NY 11101. Include children's or school's name(s) to personalize.
If you'd like FREE signed bookplates, send a SASE (12 per envelope) to Roxie Munro Studio, 43-01 21st Street, #340, Long Island City, NY 11101. Include children's or school's name(s) to personalize.
Holiday House has created a free lively fun-filled Activity Kit for 5 of my books!
Click to download: https://holidayhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Roxie-Munro-activity-kit-des3.pdf |
A stay-at-home writer dad did a GREAT scavenger hunt at the National Gallery of Art using Masterpiece Mix. He and his family were in DC for the Library of Congress National Book Festival. It is darling, and full of photos w/the book, kids, and the art. Click here: http://www.happybirthdayauthor.com/2017/09/happy-birthday-roxie-munro-september-5.html |
An interview published by Elizabeth Dulemba on the process of "Making Masterpiece Mix"
- from idea to research, to storyboards, dummy and roughs. Editorial input. Collage creation, and finished art. Cover issues. Lots of photos. Click here: https://dulemba.blogspot.com/2017/12/roxie-munros-masterpiece-mix.html
- from idea to research, to storyboards, dummy and roughs. Editorial input. Collage creation, and finished art. Cover issues. Lots of photos. Click here: https://dulemba.blogspot.com/2017/12/roxie-munros-masterpiece-mix.html
Rocco Staino of KidLit TV did a video interview for their Storymakers program!
Click here: STORYMAKERS |
Matthew Winner of "All The Wonders" podcast interview on how Masterpiece Mix was created, Roxie's career, art, publishing, and getting rejected. Click here: www.allthewonders.com/podcasts/roxie-monro-all-the-wonders-episode-381/
Fun article by Tara Lazar on process of creating Masterpiece Mix.
Click here: https://taralazar.com/2017/08/15/masterpiece-mix-by-roxie-munro/
Click here: https://taralazar.com/2017/08/15/masterpiece-mix-by-roxie-munro/
Smack Dab in the Middle illustrated article on me creating books. Click here: http://smack-dab-in-the-middle.blogspot.com/2017/09/interview-with-illustrator-roxie-munro.html
Interview with Holiday House on how "Masterpiece Mix" came to be. Click here: http://www.holidayhouse.com/spotlight_on.php?AUTHOR_ID2=Munro
A darling 1-minute video by Occupational Therapist Jo Booth, using Masterpiece Mix in an integrated classroom (typical and special needs children). Click on the right or here: Mix Video |
|
Summer, 10, and Wolfy, 3, reading "Masterpiece Mix" (sent by their granddaddy, Marvin).
For FREE coloring pages to download, and more information (including a free students activity project) on the companion book to "Masterpiece Mix," called "Market Maze,"
go to http://www.roxiemunro.com/market-maze.html
Fun and creative use of the book by Allison, a children's librarian in North Carolina...
click here: https://lightsomelibrarian.blogspot.com/2018/05/school-age-masterpiece-art.html?showComment=1527280578433#c2008497316391418380
click here: https://lightsomelibrarian.blogspot.com/2018/05/school-age-masterpiece-art.html?showComment=1527280578433#c2008497316391418380
"Masterpiece Mix"
Giclee prints individually signed and numbered. Edition of 75.
Image 11" x 18" on 17" x 22" acid-free 100% cotton rag fine art paper.
Shipped flat, mounted on acid-free foam core.
$375. S&H included in price.
See Some great reviews! (scroll down)
"Masterpiece Mix" made Bank Street's BEST BOOKS 2018 List !
Chosen as Epic! Book of the Week
KIRKUS Reviews:
Looking for a fresh and inviting introduction to academic painting genres such as still life, portrait, or landscape? Why not bring readers inside an artist's studio (perhaps author/illustrator Munro's own?) and actually show them the process?
Munro begins with preparations to paint: stretching and gessoing canvas, selecting the right tubes of colors, choosing brushes, palette knives, and solvents, setting up a palette for painting, and so on. It's lots of work…but the really hard part about painting is deciding just what to paint. In demonstrating her decision-making process, Munro uses 37 iconic and inspiring examples of fine art, each illustrating a genre for consideration, all drawn from the open-access collection of the National Gallery of Art and all representing an energizing variety of European and American artists, eras, media, and styles. She cleverly brings all these images together in a detailed, ambitious, culminating ink-and-acrylic cityscape. This signature image of an art-bedecked, lively metropolis also works as an art scavenger hunt. As readers discover the art embedded in a landscape, they can refer to the smart, concise, marvelously amplifying backmatter.
A handsome and satisfying companion to Market Maze (2015). (Informational picture book. 4-8)
Wall Street Journal
"The Best New Children's Books"
Just as a graphic-novel presentation may ease a young reader’s access to the eldritch world of Poe, so art books for children use informality to make fine art accessible to the potential young connoisseur. Pictures are made to seem friendly and undemanding. In the picture book “Masterpiece Mix” (Holiday House, 32 pages, $16.95), Roxie Munro achieves this effect by setting great paintings amid her own cartoon-style drawing.
“Today I will make a new painting,” the unnamed adult narrator announces, showing 4- to 7-year-olds how she prepares a large canvas and assembles her tools. But what to paint? This question produces a series of possible answers in the form of pictures borrowed from the National Gallery of Art, sorted into categories such as landscapes, portraits, still lifes and figure studies. A final two-page spread shows the results of the artist’s labors: a witty seek-and-find city scene that incorporates all the pictures. The flag outside Al’s Gym shows the boxers from Bellows’s “Both Members of This Club,” for instance, and a bridal salon advertises its wares with Whistler’s “The White Girl.”
by Meghan Cox Gurgun
Huffington Post: By children's book reviewer, Vicki Cobb.
Click here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/a-lesson-in-creativity_us_592c3adfe4b0a7b7b469cc2f
A LESSON IN CREATIVITY
One of the most often-asked question from kids of authors and illustrators is: “Where do you get your ideas?” What they really want to know is, “ ‘How can I be like you?’ ” In author/illustrator Roxie Munro’s latest book, Masterpiece Mix, she introduces her readers to a story of the process of creativity and presents them with new ways to look at art and their own environment. Like the last book I reviewed, Seagrass Dreams, this is a multi-leveled, innovative, different kind of picture book where interactivity can lead to new discoveries at every reading.
Masterpiece Mix begins traditionally enough with the autobiographical problem Munro faces when she decides to do a painting and shows how she prepares a blank canvas, and gets her tools ready. Ultimately, she must come to grips with the challenge that faces anyone who faces a blank page, screen or canvas. “What should I paint?”
For many, at this instance, their minds are as blank as what they’re looking at. So Munro offers suggestions by showing us how other painters have solved the problem with reproductions of art from museums and books. We see works by the great masters of different genres: still life, landscape, portraits, animals, figures, and the arts and even sports. The paintings are accurately rendered and the subtext is that part of the creative process is to study the craft of masters.
Then she tells us her father’s advice, “Paint what you love.” Roxie loves cityscapes and what an amazing cityscape she creates for the culmination of the book! I will tell you only that it is brilliant and that it is also a puzzle that the child and adult reader will return to again and again.
The back of the book is extremely important as it is here that she identifies all the great paintings she admires and has previously shown. And she gives the reader the key to where you can find them her own masterpiece.
A master is a person who gets inspired by a vision in his or her mind, of what they want to create because they have invested time in study, developing a craft (no small thing) and practice. If they’ve gone public with their works, they get opinions of others which can help or hurt. Bravely, they persevere. If they’re lucky, they reach the top of their game, as Roxie Munro has, where there is a seamless connection between what is in her mind and on the page—a masterpiece of its genre. Brava! Roxie!
Reading Style:
Art of the Game
I first met Roxie Munro in 2014 when she presented her forthcoming book Market Maze to a group of librarians. In her introductory remarks she used a term that was unfamiliar to me: gamification. The word intrigued me. I hastily scribbled it down on in my notes, determined to learn more about the concept: "the application of game-design elements and game principles in non-game contexts." *
The genius of Munro's work lies in her ability to create a story, add a game element, and then take the book one step farther, creating layers of visual complexity within a picture book format.
On the surface, Masterpiece Mix consists of a simple narrative: an artist facing a blank canvas seeks inspiration for her next creation. Seems fairly straightforward. There follows a series of explorations of various types of paintings: landscape, portrait, still life, as well as other artistic expressions found in images curate by the National Gallery of Art. So that's fun: comparing various subjects and styles of painting.
Munro wants to paint what she loves: her neighborhood. So she moves beyond the walls of the National Gallery and sets this book in her own community. With the accomplished strokes of the artist's brush, she brings this masterpiece into her own environment. That's where the gamification commences. Her neighborhood becomes a repository for these masterpiece images. Readers will enjoy locating the art reproductions, referring back to the pages on which each is introduced and then, observing the clever placement of each classic showpiece within the neighborhood. For example, Cassatt's sketch of mother and child is located at the Day Care Center, The Degas sculpture of a ballerina is found in front of the Dance Studio.
A map key with corresponding images and descriptions of the art is located on the back pages.
It's art. It's educational. It invites discovery and exploration. It encourages creation. It's gamification. It's brilliant!
More Amazing Mazes... Munro has published a variety of picture books that employ a gamification element. This is just a sampling of her books: Maze Ways A to Z, Market Maze, Amazement Park: 12 Wild Mazes
School Library Journal
MUNRO, Roxie. Masterpiece Mix. illus. by Roxie Munro.
32p. Holiday House. Aug. 2017.
PreS-Gr 3–Munro introduces children to fine art using a search-and-find game and a fun framing device. A fictional artist, possibly modeled after the author/illustrator herself, is gathering her tools and supplies and deciding what to paint. She considers still lifes, landscapes, portraits, sport scenes, and more. The illustrations integrate Munro’s colorful ink drawings of the artist’s studio and town with reproductions of famous artworks, selected from the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, by painters such as Judith Leyster, Robert S. Duncanson, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Peter Paul Rubens, and Johannes Vermeer. The ending unveils the cityscape the artist has created, which incorporates all 37 masterpieces she had previously admired. In the back matter, thumbnail descriptions of each of the masterworks yield interesting tidbits for those who delve further: Winslow Homer illustrated 13 children’s books; Mary Cassatt, famous for figure painting, was barred from life drawing classes because of her gender; and Claude Monet did more than 250 paintings of the same pond. This simple story covering the basics of painting and drawing—materials, subject matter, and art history—can be absorbed in a few minutes by preschoolers, but the searching game and the intricacy of the artwork lend themselves to more thorough investigation by older children and those with longer attention spans. VERDICT Recommended as a versatile introduction to fine art for elementary schoolers.
–Suzanne LaPierre, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Booklist
Masterpiece Mix.
Munro shares her artistic process in this eye-catching picture book about creativity and inspiration. After building her canvas and gathering her tools, she’s ready to go, but a big questions looms: “what should I paint?” She then searches for inspiration among some of her favorite pieces of art, and reproductions of paintings or sculptures appear in the scene. Sometimes it’s a poster or print; other times it’s a page in a calendar, image on a mug or tote bag, or an illustration in an open book. Fueled by the great masters, Munro looks at the city outside her window and lands on the perfect idea for her own painting, but the resulting artwork has some familiar images cleverly concealed within. This genial picture book does
double duty: it introduces famous artworks while emphasizing the importance of looking at both great art and one’s surroundings for inspiration. Munro’s ultimate painting is filled with teensy details, which will be fun to hunt for, and an answer key identifies each inspiring artwork in more detail. Aspiring artists will be captivated.
— Anita Lock
Publishers Weekly
“Today I will make a new painting,” declares an artist with cropped hair and glasses (she bears a strong resemblance to Munro herself), before noting the supplies she uses and the inspiration she gathers from the artwork around her. The artist’s pleasantly cluttered studio features reproductions of dozens of works of art from Cassatt, Gauguin, Vermeer, and other artists (the images were digitized by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.). Munro touches on possible subjects—still lifes, portraits, landscapes—and a closing cityscape lets eagle-eyed readers spot the 37 featured paintings, drawings, and sculptures on buildings, vehicles, and elsewhere; the works of art are discussed in greater detail in end notes. Rather than focus on a finished masterpiece, Munro makes it clear that the process of making art begins long before the first brush stroke. Ages 4–7. (Aug.)
“Today I will make a new painting,” declares an artist with cropped hair and glasses (she bears a strong resemblance to Munro herself), before noting the supplies she uses and the inspiration she gathers from the artwork around her. The artist’s pleasantly cluttered studio features reproductions of dozens of works of art from Cassatt, Gauguin, Vermeer, and other artists (the images were digitized by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.). Munro touches on possible subjects—still lifes, portraits, landscapes—and a closing cityscape lets eagle-eyed readers spot the 37 featured paintings, drawings, and sculptures on buildings, vehicles, and elsewhere; the works of art are discussed in greater detail in end notes. Rather than focus on a finished masterpiece, Munro makes it clear that the process of making art begins long before the first brush stroke. Ages 4–7. (Aug.)
Horn Book Review
Munro is known as both a picture-book illustrator and a painter of large, detailed cityscapes. Here, the two disciplines converge. We watch as an artist walks to her studio, stretches a new canvas, and gets out her supplies. She stands in front of a
huge canvas that nearly eclipses a studio window. “But what should I paint?” Now we zoom in on objects in the studio, where Munro has incorporated thirty-six photos of actual paintings and one sculpture, placing them on a mug, a wall calendar,
a tote bag, a computer monitor. The artist considers still lifes, landscapes, and portraits, as well as a variety of subjects such as sports, animals, and the arts.
Her decision? She paints the view out her window and imagines the artwork found in her studio decorating the neighborhood. A Whistler figure study of a woman in white is seen on the wall of a bridal shop; a George Bellows painting of boxers decorates Al’s Gym. Like so many of Munro’s books, this one is hard to categorize. In the end, it’s a book about art and artists, and also a puzzle book.
Sharp-eyed viewers will be rewarded with answers, though it might take a while to find references to all thirty-seven images in the final spread. Luckily, the back matter includes a key, as well as notes on each work of art (the artists are predominantly
white and male, plus one African American man and two white women).
lolly robinson
Munro is known as both a picture-book illustrator and a painter of large, detailed cityscapes. Here, the two disciplines converge. We watch as an artist walks to her studio, stretches a new canvas, and gets out her supplies. She stands in front of a
huge canvas that nearly eclipses a studio window. “But what should I paint?” Now we zoom in on objects in the studio, where Munro has incorporated thirty-six photos of actual paintings and one sculpture, placing them on a mug, a wall calendar,
a tote bag, a computer monitor. The artist considers still lifes, landscapes, and portraits, as well as a variety of subjects such as sports, animals, and the arts.
Her decision? She paints the view out her window and imagines the artwork found in her studio decorating the neighborhood. A Whistler figure study of a woman in white is seen on the wall of a bridal shop; a George Bellows painting of boxers decorates Al’s Gym. Like so many of Munro’s books, this one is hard to categorize. In the end, it’s a book about art and artists, and also a puzzle book.
Sharp-eyed viewers will be rewarded with answers, though it might take a while to find references to all thirty-seven images in the final spread. Luckily, the back matter includes a key, as well as notes on each work of art (the artists are predominantly
white and male, plus one African American man and two white women).
lolly robinson
Orange Marmalade blog (Creative Nonfiction Books):
The talented Roxie Munro is about to make a painting. Let her introduce you to her tools, the way she preps her canvas, some famous art works that inspire her…
…and finally, her finished painting! It’s a sprawling view of her city and surrounding countryside. Ingenuously tucked in are bits of all those masterpieces she’s been showing us in the museum! Can you spot them? If you have trouble, there’s a key in the back along with a snippet of her thoughts on each of these 37 pieces of art. A fabulous, fun way of introducing kids to fine art and to the great joy of looking and seeing!
Jo Booth, Teachers with Apps, Occupational Therapist
Masterpiece Mix by Roxie Munro has been an enormous hit at EasterSeals in our preschool.
The book is beautifully written and the author is speaking directly to children in language that is
developmentally understood. Of course the artwork is fantastic, and done in Roxie Munro’s
award winning style of realism with just a wink of whimsy. The book consists of extra-large and
thick pages that are perfect for repeated readings and the handling of preschoolers.
Inside Masterpiece Mix
The story begins with Roxie trying to decide what to paint. She readies her canvas giving kids a
peek at the life of an artist and what an art studio might look like. Should she paint a landscape -
which we learned was a picture about places, a still life, or portrait? It is most impressive how
she speaks with ease and explains the different categories of paintings. Scattered throughout
the pages are classic paintings covering all the surfaces of her workroom – some even hidden
on mugs and calendars! I had one boy who is dependent on a ventilator, and probably had not
been to an art museum before sit in rapture, staring at the paintings on each page. At one point
he grabbed my arm to get a closer look, and in that moment I knew his life had been changed
by the exposure to art from this book. He had experienced beauty and the notion of creativity
was planted. The last page displays what Roxie chose to paint. The kids loved all the hidden
works of art contained in her painting, and enjoyed seeking out paintings they had seen
previously. In the back is a key to all the artwork in the book, explaining both the piece and a
little bit about the artist.
Extension activity
After our classes read, and explored the book, we decided to make our own masterpieces. We
got out the tools of our trade – markers, pencils, and crayons and went at it. It was exhilarating
to see the kids so inspired. We then framed each one and displayed them for all to see. A follow
up session gave each child the opportunity to describe their masterpieces. We used a plastic
microphone, and gave everyone a turn to say something about their work. It was fascinating to
hear the depth of answers to poised questions from their peers. It boosted the spirits of all for
not only the day, but all the days to come. The message was clear - There was a masterpiece
inside of them too. And what a message that is!
Masterpiece Mix by Roxie Munro has been an enormous hit at EasterSeals in our preschool.
The book is beautifully written and the author is speaking directly to children in language that is
developmentally understood. Of course the artwork is fantastic, and done in Roxie Munro’s
award winning style of realism with just a wink of whimsy. The book consists of extra-large and
thick pages that are perfect for repeated readings and the handling of preschoolers.
Inside Masterpiece Mix
The story begins with Roxie trying to decide what to paint. She readies her canvas giving kids a
peek at the life of an artist and what an art studio might look like. Should she paint a landscape -
which we learned was a picture about places, a still life, or portrait? It is most impressive how
she speaks with ease and explains the different categories of paintings. Scattered throughout
the pages are classic paintings covering all the surfaces of her workroom – some even hidden
on mugs and calendars! I had one boy who is dependent on a ventilator, and probably had not
been to an art museum before sit in rapture, staring at the paintings on each page. At one point
he grabbed my arm to get a closer look, and in that moment I knew his life had been changed
by the exposure to art from this book. He had experienced beauty and the notion of creativity
was planted. The last page displays what Roxie chose to paint. The kids loved all the hidden
works of art contained in her painting, and enjoyed seeking out paintings they had seen
previously. In the back is a key to all the artwork in the book, explaining both the piece and a
little bit about the artist.
Extension activity
After our classes read, and explored the book, we decided to make our own masterpieces. We
got out the tools of our trade – markers, pencils, and crayons and went at it. It was exhilarating
to see the kids so inspired. We then framed each one and displayed them for all to see. A follow
up session gave each child the opportunity to describe their masterpieces. We used a plastic
microphone, and gave everyone a turn to say something about their work. It was fascinating to
hear the depth of answers to poised questions from their peers. It boosted the spirits of all for
not only the day, but all the days to come. The message was clear - There was a masterpiece
inside of them too. And what a message that is!
Joanna Marple's review (with activities) on PICTURE BOOK FRIDAY
http://joannamarple.com/2017/12/01/masterpiece-mix-perfect-picture-book-friday/
http://joannamarple.com/2017/12/01/masterpiece-mix-perfect-picture-book-friday/