As a former children's librarian (and a former child) I am well acquainted with the Provensens and their work. It was amazing to see the sketches, memorabilia and personal photos that were included, as well as their daughter’s memories. This is a great gift for the coffee table or bookshelf of any art lover or children’s literature lover. I truly enjoyed reading this -- it was a perfect representation of their amazing work as well as a nostalgic remembrance of my childhood.

I am so grateful to NetGalley and Chronicle Books/Chronicle Chroma for the opportunity to read and review The Art of Alice and Martin Provensen.

A gorgeous book! I wasn't families with the Provensens before this book and I loved learning about them and their art.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* It took me a while to recognize some of the artwork in this book, my mother has some of these books and has had them since she was a child! This was a cool read and i am recommending it to my mom for sure :)

A fantastic look at the art and life of these illustrators. Well designed and focused. It is definitely a book to get as a physical copy rather than just an ebook for the full effect.

As an artist myself, I love looking into the process of other artists' work, especially when I can feast my eyes on so many of their images alongside the commentary. Sometimes this type of stuff falls flat, like it's too hollow or not "revealing" enough, but I'm happy to report that wasn't the case with this one. It was interesting and fun to read, and it has a lot of heart. It grabbed my husband's attention from across the room as I was looking at it. He was initially taken with the art (which is absolutely charming), but when I relayed to him about what I'd read so far about their life, the adoption of their kid, their work style, etc., and showed him the pictures of them together he was like "omg that's so cool" (he's also an artist).

I spaced my reading out over a few weeks so I could spend more time with it. The interviews and essays in the book include both personal elements as well as some "art critic" type stuff about lines and movement, etc., and I thought it was a good balance. I have to say, some of the "great" artists are, sometimes I come away from learning about their life like "they were a greater asshole than they were an artist." And there's this idea people sometimes have about artists, that they're troubled, that maybe you even need to be defective to create art. This book highlights a different way to be an artist. The Provensens, though I'm sure not without their faults, were well-functioning, responsible, non-assholes, and it was refreshing to read about them. And then--the art, the art, the art! I find it so delightful and fun to look at. I had never heard of the Provensens before but now I just kind of want to be them. I'm really glad I found this book.

I received free copy via NetGalley and this is my honest review. I rarely buy hard copies of books these days but this one is definitely going on the list.

Some serious nostalgia for Little Golden Books in this volume, but it also gives a good survey and biography of the works, the marriage, and the work style of this artist couple / couple of artists. I would have loved them to cover even more of the art across more of their works, but it was a good general survey.

I greatly enjoyed this book about family and the arts. The combination of photos and sketches really adds to the text and provides more details about the author and her parents. This book allows its readers to live a wandering type lifestyle from the confines of our own homes. Thank you to Netgalley for this free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

**ARC provided by NetGalley for honest review**

The Art of Alice and Martin Provensen by Alice and Martin Provensen covers the long running and successful careers of a pair of married artists. Throughout their years, they worked together on a variety of projects, from Little Golden Books to classics like The Odyssey, Shakespeare and beyond, resulting in quite an expansive portfolio.

Honestly, this book was designed how all art books should be designed...some introductions in the front followed exclusively by the many artworks themselves. Not that I have much experience with artbooks besides the occasional Disney ones, but I always cringe a bit when artbooks try to fit in too much text thus having to shrink the art itself down in size.

This book wasn't quite the type of art I was expecting, nor was I aware who the Provensen's were before looking through this book, but I sincerely appreciated flipping through their creative journey and learning a bit about them.

Just out on March first is The Art of Alice and Martin Provensen, advertised as the first-ever monograph on this beloved midcentury husband-and-wife illustration team. I got to read the advance copy furnished by the publisher, Chronicle Chroma, through Net Galley. Even better, I got to look at the pictures! The writing segments are contributed by archives from the Provensens and from those who knew them and their work. The art is all theirs.

The daughter’s story of growing up with parents who loved each other and their work sounds idyllic, but seems to be borne out in the accounts her parents and of the other contributors who knew them.

The Provensen Caldecott speech mentions a favorite book of Alice and Martin in their growing up years, The Girl of the Limberlost. This made an immediate connection with me since it was also a favorite of my mother’s, then mine, and then my daughter’s. In their formative years, they spent hundreds of hours in the library since it also provided them with travel and art books. They went the same places and had many of the same experiences, but somehow did not meet until they were working in the same animation studio during World War II. They also address the common question of how they manage to illustrate the children’s books together, especially The Glorious Flight, which won the award. An address by Alice to the American Library Association, circa 1985, gives additional insight into their working process and their artistic journey.

Marcus Leonard’s essay begins with the number of professional couples who work together in other jobs as well as in the children’s book world, including the Provensens. He begins with their long history with Little Golden books, noting that librarians were less than impressed with the line of economic books. They became more impressed as the Provensens moved on to other publishers.

Robert Gottlieb writes a touching and personal tribute describing the relationship of the his family with theirs.

The book is lovely and will bring back memories to those who have loved children’s books for a long time. Reading the words will not take long. Examining the beautiful pictures will take a while and will likely demand a return trip or two through the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This would make a wonderful addition to the coffee table or bookshelf of any children's book illustration fan. I found myself surprised by how many of the illustrations I recognized from the books I read at home, school, and the library growing up. I enjoyed reading about the Provensens' backgrounds and family life and seeing their paintings and travel sketches in addition to the illustrations.

This beautiful book depicting the illustrations of Alice and Martin Provensen shows the progression of their style and experimental drawings over the years. Primarily children's book illustrators, the two artists expanded their work into magazines and other venues. The autobiography of the authors is detailed and explanatory. and the art in every case is delightful! --A wonderful gift book no matter the age.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Art of Alice and Martin Provensen is a stunning collection of artwork and interviews about the husband-and-wife illustrating team. If you have read children's books in the 1900's, you've probably come across their situations. In fact, while reading this book, I found out that they did the illustrations for one of my favorite children's books, The Color Kittens.

Overall, The Art of Alice and Martin Provensen is an amazing coffee table book that will appeal to illustration-lovers everywhere. One highlight of this book are the amazing full-color illustrations that are placed throughout the book. I am so impressed by this collection, and it would make the perfect gift for the children's picture book lover in your life. If you're intrigued by the description, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in March!

This is a beautiful book that would be great to read in physical form (as opposed to e-book). I loved reading about the background of the artists Alice and Martin Provensen and perusing their whimsical and lovely artwork.

Wow, what a gorgeous book! I absolutely loved getting to see the different styles of Alice & Martin's work throughout the years. The colors were stunning and variation in style was incredibly interesting. Everything from political art of cookbooks (the 1949 cookbook was actually my favorite!). I also loved getting to read so many stories from the family's life. It really gave insight into what they were going through when creating their art. This would make such a beautiful gift for anyone who is a lover of Alice & Martin Provensen's art, or any art or illustration lover in general. Loved it!

Each page of this book is a another memory from childhood reading. Loved the progression of the artwork through the decades.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books/Chronicle Chroma for the eARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This was an unusual book for me. It is a biography (written by the daughter), as well as a children's book, and art book. The illustrations were beautiful. I had never heard of this famous couple. So it was an unexpected delight. Very well traveled, and very interesting. 4 stars

A beautiful biography of the seminal children's book illustrator-duo of the mid- to late-20th century. Their artworks graced dozens of children's books spanning a multitude of genres. The book is comprised of an interview with the couple's daughter, award acceptance speeches, and a selection of their artworks from books published between 1949 and 2005. About 2/3rds of the book is filled with photographs and artworks of the Provensens. A trip down memory lane for people that grew up with their artworks in their children's books or yore and an interesting study in the evolution of art style. Reread value as a coffee table book.

This title includes a lengthy conversation with the daughter of the illustrators, two of their speeches, of which one was a Caldecott Medal Acceptance, an introduction and forward, photos of the couple, and…the illustrations. These go from 1951 for A Child’s Garden of Verses all the way to 2005’s Klondike Gold.

This book is completely delightful. The illustrations that this couple made are engaging and often whimsical. They often brought smiles to my face. This is a book that readers will enjoy visiting time and again.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This book will be published on 01 Mar 2022.

Absolutely loved this book! It is gorgeous: I could return to it many times just to enjoy the artwork alone. Paired with the story of this husband and wife duo, it was even better. What a beautiful way to showcase these two talented artists and make sure their story is remembered by children for years to come. Highly recommend for libraries, schools, and homes!

I got an advance copy of this book through NetGalley.
I was attracted to its cover, and inside is a chronicle of their life-time work. It also includes an interview of their daughter, which gives insights to for their works as well.
Alice and Martin Provensen are illustrators of children's books in US, publishing numerous books mainly in 1950-70s. Their works include illustrations for children's books to Homer's Odyssey and Shakespeare. It was great to see many of their works in sequence, and admire their style. There is something comforting and warm in their art, and I really liked this book.
This would be a great coffee table book, and I would like to acquire a physical copy myself.