In the desert of the American Southwest, a horned lizard named Art is just about to finish painting his masterpiece when he is interrupted by a small lizard named Max who wants to paint, too. All Max needs is a blank canvas, some paint, and an idea to get started. Art provides them all, but when he suggests to Max, “Paint me,” Max takes it literally and covers Art in colorful paint. His humorous, over-the-top attempts to get the paint off of Art playfully show different kinds of media, culminating in a simple line drawing of Art that gets deconstructed when Max begins pulling at a loose thread. As he did with his Caldecott-winning The Three Pigs (Clarion, 2001), Wiesner takes book illustration to a new intellectual plane, encouraging young readers to think about the pictures they are seeing by honing their awareness of the creative process. (Ages 5–8)

Max and Arthur are friends who share an interest in painting. Arthur is an accomplished painter; Max is a beginner. Max’s first attempt at using a paintbrush sends the two friends on a whirlwind trip through various artistic media, which turn out to have unexpected pitfalls. Although Max is inexperienced, he’s courageous—and a quick learner. His energy and enthusiasm bring the adventure to its triumphant conclusion. Beginners everywhere will take heart.