Masterpiece (2008)

Author: Elise Broach | Illustrators: Kelly Murphy, Antoine Revoy | Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books, Henry Holt and Company | Ages 9-12

Buy Masterpiece »

"Masterpiece is a middle-grade mystery about stolen art, miniature worlds, and the surprising friendship between a talented beetle, Marvin, and a lonely eleven-year-old boy named James. When James receives a pen-and-ink set for his birthday, Marvin discovers that he can create tiny, intricately detailed scenes by dipping his front legs in the cap of ink and drawing on paper. James is mistakenly credited with Marvin's amazing pictures, and soon beetle and boy are swept up in an adventure at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that involves masterpieces, forgeries, and a stolen pen-and-ink drawing by the great Renaissance artist Albrecht Durer, which Marvin and James are determined to recover. With echoes of The Cricket in Times Square, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and Charlotte's Web, this novel explores friendship, sacrifice, and moral dilemmas in the context of a high-stakes art heist."

Masterpiece received the 2009 E.B. White Read Aloud Award, was distinguished as a 2008 Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and received countless more awards. It has been translated in Catalan, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Turkish. It was followed by a series of companion books for younger readers, The Masterpiece Adventures.

Starred Review From School Library Journal: "Murphy's illustrations add perspective and humor, supporting the detailed narrative. A masterpiece of storytelling."

From Booklist: "Murphy's own pen-and-ink spot art reflects the text's sweet insouciance. With suspense, art history, complex family relationships (human and arthropod), and a resonant friendship, this enjoyable outing will satisfy the reserved and adventurous alike."

From Publishers Weekly: "Murphy animates the writing with an abundance of b&w drawings. Loosely implying rather than imitating the Old Masters they reference, the finely hatched drawings depict the settings realistically and the characters, especially the beetles, with joyful comic license. This smart marriage of style and content bridges the gap between the contemporary beat of the illustrations and Renaissance art."

From Kirkus Reviews: "Delightful intricacies of beetle life . . . blend seamlessly with the suspenseful caper as well as the sentimental story of a complicated-but-rewarding friendship that requires a great deal of frantic leg-wiggling on Marvin's part. Murphy's charming pen-and-ink drawings populate the short chapters of this funny, winsome novel."

← Previous Book Back to Chapter Books Gallery