The Van Gogh Cafe: A Collection Where Anything Can Happen for Kids (Ages 8-12)

I suspect lots of adults are reading children's books for their own entertanment, enlightenment and just plain fun. I am.Having reason to be in the children's aisles again, I went looking for some of my childhood golden books, which are not 25 cents anymore and you can't sit in the drugstore window and read them anymore with a 50 cent sundae. Anyway, as this is a review aimed at the adults...aren't you tired of the stuff in the paperback aisles? Serial killers, stalkers, vampires, murder, mayhem and disaster everywhere you look! And I got so tired of the campbell soup writers I started re-reading classics. And then I had to shop for childrens books. What fun! (Before I comment directly about The Van Gogh Cafe, let me say to The Writer and all Writers that thrift shops and book re-sales might not generate an initial royalty, but they will lead to retail sales. I have purchased one book at a thrift shop and then gone on to purchase four more from Amazon.) Now on to the Van Gogh Cafe...The events are magical, but with the exception of the multiplying muffins and self-cookings eggs, such 'magic' could occur in actuality as shown in the following stories:1. The Possom: After seeing the stray animals being fed at The Van Gogh Cafe, someone could decide to go home and open an animal shelter.2. The Star reminded me of Frost's poem The Hired Man. An older person could return to a former place of comfort and happiness to await death. It was also refreshing that The Star was waiting for a young man he knew in '26.3. The Seagull was a lesson in the abuse of magical things--something that should have remained for the enjoyment of all was forced out of town because of people intent on creating mayhem and turning the seagull feathers for profit.I enjoyed the balance of character and story in this book and I was left wanting a sequel--which would include Emerald the cat and the used bookstore across the street!I will be purchasing, reading and passing along more of Ms. Rylant's books. In the meantime I will try to find my own Van Gogh Cafe.

I use the book in my 4th grade classroom. We analyze it chapter by chapter looking for "Easter eggs" (hidden clues) and subtext. The kids are broken into groups and I run off copies of the chapter for them to highlight and take notes on. My kids love it and so do I. The book has a whimsical, gentle magic (not the Harry Potter kind) that winds up in each chapter leaving the reader wondering how it will manifest itself and what the results will be. Each time the magic begins to drift around, the people of this cafe are changed. Just the fact that the magic comes from old theater walls is fun.Young Clara, daughter of the owner/chef of the cafe, is both the spectator and willing participant of the magic. She eagerly watches for and protects it.This is a great read aloud for parents to have fun with, too. There is so much in these short chapters that kids, left on their own, may miss it. My kids always want their own copies of the book when we are done.Why is the cafe called the Van Gogh Cafe? Ah, why, indeed. Take a look at "Starry Nights" and other paintings of his and come up with your own ideas.

This 50-ish page book takes the reader into the life of a father and daughter who run a café and are always open to and interested in the extraordinary. Rylant does a terrific job of transitioning from one chapter to the next. This would be a good book to teach older students - maybe 6th grade and up - about transitions. I teach in a more conservative population in general, so I would get administrative approval before reading the entire book to the class. I personally loved the story. I was engaged from the first page. It was uplifting and thought-provoking.

Its amazing what you notice and learn when you sit back and watch. If more people would observe their surrounding more, what a fascinating place we would notice we live in. From observing nature to people compassion. The magic of life is we care, and looking at birth to death is interesting. I give a thumb up to this one.

My 8 year old daughter and I read this book together and we loved it. We read a chapter each evening before bed and could not wait to find out what happened next. It is a charming story with fascinating characters and wonderful magical mini stories within the Van Gogh Cafe. It makes you think about the "magic" in the real world. My daughter and I both love Cynthia Rylant's books and this is one of her best.

Because this is a short story, I expected it to be light in nature, and it was, at first. Then, there was a magical twist to it, that I did not anticipate, which warmed my heart. Anything is possible.

I used to read this to my class each year. It’s just lovely. Now I give it to my nieces and nephews.

One of my favorite books to read to my students. It just makes you feel good to read it.

The description for this book was "used - very good."A previous owner was a teacher who used this book to prepare a thorough lesson. There is writing and highlighting on 90% of the pages in the book. Great resource for a teacher, but not a great reading experience for a 9 year old.

Es war die Empfehlung einer Amerikanerin und verbunden mit dem Stichwort "Magic". Es geht um die kleine Magie des Alltags und ist perfekt, um beim Genuss von Cafe nebenbei gelesen zu werden. Ganz kurze Kapitel - bei einem Besuch im Lieblingscafe durchgelesen und ein schöner Übergang von der Arbeit zum Feierabend...

Full of interesting figures of speech and thoughtful themes with lots of extensions...fabulous as a novel study for a small group

Soooooo wonderful, I haven't read book like that.

Cynthia Rylantは、Henry and Mudge，Mr. Putter and Tabby，Cobble Street Cousinsなどの子供向けシリーズ本や絵本などが有名な作家だが、こういう挿し絵が一切ない文字だけの本も何冊か書いている。Van Gogh CafeはKansas州にあるカフェで、若い男Marcがオーナー。Marcの娘Claraはまだ10才なんだけど、学校に通うかたわらで朝に夕にと、父親が一人でやっているお店を手伝っているんだ。Van Gogh Cafeでは日々少しずつMagicalな事が起こるんだ。そのうねりが大きくなって、スゴくMagicalな事が起こることだってある。それはなぜか？Claraがそういう事は起こりうるものだと信じているから…確かに大人は、目の前で不思議な出来事が起こっても、なかなか信じられないんだよね。でも、10才の女の子なら信じられる。それはどんなMagicなのかというと、例えば…ある晩、Van Gogh Cafeに雷が落ちた。MarcとClaraはもうお店を閉めて、帰るところだった。鍵穴にカギを差し込み、戸締まりをするところに雷が落ちたので、カギは一瞬にして溶けてしまった。でも、被害はそれだけだった。次の日から、Van Gogh Cafeはどこかが変だ。いつもと違う。キャッシャーの上の看板が少し傾げていたり、入ってきたお客さんの帽子は自動的に脱げたり…でも、Claraはそれが雷のせいだと知っていて、もっと大きな出来事が来るのを期待していたんだ。すると、Marcがキッチンで作る食べ物が、あり得ないくらいに全てが完璧になった。しかも、Marcは詩を書くのに夢中…その間に勝手に材料が、自分で自分自身を料理して出てくるんだ。卵はフライパンを見つけ、そこに自分から入って焼かれ始め、自動的にひっくり返る。パンは勝手にトースターの中に入って…という具合。Marcは文学なんかとは無縁の男だったのに、今は詩を書いて・書いて・書いて…自分が実際には料理を作っていないことにすら気付いていない。ところがある日、Marcの詩の一編が書かれたナプキンを見たお客さんは、次の日に書かれた内容と全く同じ出来事に遭遇し、Marcの書いている言葉が単なる詩ではなく、予言だったことが分かり…Rylantの語る因果律は非常に柔らかく、その論理の展開に分かったような分からない様な感じが払拭しきれない向きもあるが、その因果律には人間の人間たる本能に訴えかけてくる部分がある様に感じる。