The Magic Paintbrush

The Magic Paintbrush by Robin Muller


publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers; 1st edition (March 1, 1990)ISBN-10: 0670831670
ISBN-13: 9780670831678Hardcover: 30 pages
Dimensions: 8.75 x 0.5 x 11.75 inches

inscribed message from Rob, Gina & Avery on title page

Given the gift of a magic paintbrush that can bring things to life, a boy comes to learn that the best pictures are the ones made with the heart.-----------------------
"The artwork in this book of fantasy is richly detailed and sophisticated, from the purple and black endpapers with astrological symbols to the bordered full-page pictures, dark with shadows and alive with Dickensian characters. Children will enjoy the mysterious transformations and the surrealistic touches; adults will relish the Victorian street scenes and appreciate sly references to art and literature, such as the inclusion of Toulouse Lautrec, Paul Gauguin, and Vincent van Gogh in the first illustration. Muller's tale, however, is weighty and too complicated. The story concerns Nib, a street boy and talented artist, who rescues an old wizard. His reward is a paintbrush capable of creating and making real everything he paints. When the king of the land, nicely garbed as a Regency dandy, discovers Nib's talent and wishes to use it to increase his own power, the boy paints him a navy and sends him out to sea in a monstrous storm. Tossing away his magic brush, Nib chooses to create art from the heart rather than from magic. It's hard to tell whether the point of the story is that magic is a double-edged sword, or that absolute political power is evil, or that the true purpose of art is not to paint things as they are but to seek beauty in the midst of ugliness. The text is contrived, but it does provide occasion for interesting pictures."-----------------------
The Magic Brush is a Chinese animated stop-motion film produced by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio. There were two versions of the film. In 1954 the first film was called "Ma Liang and his Magic Brush"
In 1955 the second film was called "Magic Brush". They are also interchangeably referred to as the "Magic Pen" or "Magical Pen".

The story has been readapted a number of times by Chinese authors, common versions include the story of the same name from author Han Xing as well as Hong Xuntao. The American adaptation titled as "Tye May and the Magic Brush" by Molly Bang features a female protagonist as the title character.The Magic Paintbrush, written by Liz Miles, illustrated by Meilo So (Oxford University Press, 2011).
The Magic Paintbrush, written by Jillian Powell (Wayland, 2011).The Magic Paintbrush, written by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Joel Stewart (Igloo, Macmillan, 2004).
The Magic Paintbrush, written by Laurence Yep, illustrated by Suling Wang (Harper Collins, 2000).The Magic Paintbrush, written by Robin Muller (Doubleday Canada, 1989).
Tye May and the Magic Brush, by Molly Bang (HarperCollins, 1980).The Magic Paintbrush, adapted by Fran Hunia from the traditional tale, illustrated by Martin Aitchison (Ladybird Books, 1970s)
Ma Lien and the Magic Brush, written by Hisako Kimishima, illustrated by Kei Wakana (Parents' Magazine Press, 1968)