This book is about a boy named Nib who receives a magic paintbrush from an old man. As Nib begins to paint with the magic paintbrush he discovers that whatever he paints comes to life. A greedy king hears the story of the boy with the magic paintbrush and demands a search for the boy and to bring him back to the king. The king enslaves Nib and tells him to paint all he desires. In the end Nib tricks the king and paints a ship and sends the king out into a storm. The pictures in this book were very creative and detailed. I enjoyed the magic in this book and think it is a great for kids to spark imagination. ( )

This story is the westernized version of a traditional Chinese folk tale. An orphan boy, Nib, is rewarded with a magic paintbrush for saving the life of an old man. The magic paintbrush makes whatever Nib paints come to life. The greedy king learns of the magical object and tries to enslave Nib in order to make him bring to life whatever the king desires. Nib tricks the king into asking for a ship. Nib paints the ship and a storm to go with it and the king is lost forever.

One of the keys to the magical object motif seems to be that the object is the reward for a kind and selfless deed. Whether it is the recipient or another character who misuses it, the object proves dangerous in the wrong hands. The magical object must either be returned to a pure person or destroyed.

This story was very nice and detailed. The illustrations were beautiful. Young, aspiring artists will learn the lesson that art is not always about recreating what you can see with your eyes, but about creating what is in your heart. Appropriate read-aloud for ages five and up. ( )