Art Discovery – Blackbird and Company

Matthew was a poor mouse who lived in a dusty corner.
Matthew and his classmates were taken to the museum.
When Matthew saw a painting of rushing streams, he knew he had found the wide world.
One painting of a mouse looked like crusts of a pastry.
Walking through the museum, Matthew met another mouse.
In Matthew’s dream, he and Nicoletta were walking hand in hand, in an immense, fantastic painting.
When Matthew woke up he told his parents that he wants to be a painter.
Matthew’s canvasses were filled with the shapes and colors of joy.
Matthew married Nicolleta and in time he became famous.
Matthew named his last painting “My Dream.”

1. Tommy liked to draw pictures.
His pictures got put up in his room, around the house, in the barbershop, and in the grocery store.
Once, Tommy drew pictures on his sheets, but his mom washed them.
In the new house, Tommy got to draw pictures on the unpainted walls.
Tommy was excited for the art lessons in kindergarten.
The paints in kindergarten cracked on the paper when it dried.
In fact, when Tommy was walking home, the paint blew right off the paper.
For his birthday, Tommy got a box of sixty-four Crayola crayons.
In art class, each child only got one piece of paper.
Tommy did not want to copy the art teacher’s drawing.
Tommy made a deal with the art teacher to do the same drawing as everyone else, then if there were time he could make his own drawings with his crayons.
When Tommy grew up, he became an artist.

Appelemando was a boy who loved to dream.
Appelemando and his friends shared a secret.
When Appelemando dreamed, he and his friends could see them.
His dreams floated up into the air.
The dreams stuck to the wet piece of paper.
One day Appelemando started to dream and the sun suddenly hid behind a gray storm cloud.
After the storm, Appelemando’s dreams had stuck to the walls and storefronts of the town.
When the dreams stuck to the walls, the townsfolk were stunned and some were angry.
When the children tried to tell the townspeople about the dreams the more suspicious the elders became.
After they had cleaned up, the children were so sad they didn’t watch the path and they got lost in the forest.
The children were fond because Appelemando was able to dream and the pictures were seen floating in the air by the townspeople.
The townspeople never again questioned the importance of dreams.

Robert saw the detective’s car creep slowly down the street.
Jennifer cried when her best friend moved out of the apartment building next door.
The mother seldom laughed when her son forgot to do his homework.
The children were delighted by the glisten of sunshine on the snow after days of stormy weather.
For fun, the girls walked on tiptoe across the freshly mowed lawn.

Arthur likes his job at the art museum.
Arthur loves art, but cannot decide on a favorite artist.
On special nights, after eating and reading, Arthur puts on a mask, unlocks a box, and paints pictures.
Art Dog wonders whether anyone will ever see his paintings.
One night, the art museum’s alarm rings and the Chief of Police discovers the Mona Woofa has been stolen.
The police threw Art Dog in jail because he had a brush in his paw.
Art Dog escaped by painting a ladder and window from which he could jump out.
Art Dog then painted a Brushmobile, rode off into the night, and slammed his brakes in front of a deserted warehouse.
When the Chief of Police asked Art Dog how he knew where to find the mutts who stole the Mona Woofa, he told him that he could smell art a mile away.
Art Dog captured the mutts who stole the Mona.
The Museum Director liked Art Dog’s “masterpiece” and invited him to show his work at the Dogopolis Museum of Art.
Everyone was amazed and speechless when they saw Art Dog’s City Rhapsody, but wondered who was Art Dog, painter in a Brushmobile, catcher of crooks, bringer of light to the Dogopolis night?

Norman would greet all of the art-loving mice who came to the museum. Pg 10
The only worry that Norman had was avoiding the sharp-eyed upstairs guard. Pg 14
His favorite hiding place was inside the helmet of the suit of armor. Pg 16
In the helmet, Norman set up a little art studio. Pg 17
One day he decided to make sculptures out of the mousetraps that he had made safe. Pg 19
After working hard one day he made a sculpture he was very proud of that looked like a mouse on a flying trapeze. Pg 21
Norman decided to enter the contest with his sculpture that he named, “TRAPEESE.” PG 28
Norman was worried that the judges would not see his little sculpture among the larger works of the contestants. Pg 34/35
Even though he was excited about the contest, Norman knew he still had a job to do.
The museum director was confused and did not know who the artist was, but when the guard saw the art he knew who and where the artist was. Pg 42
The guard discovered Norman standing guard outside and took him into the museum forthe awards ceremony. Pg 54/55
The only request that Norman had was to see the upstairs part of the museum. Pg 59