The Collector of Moments

by Quint Buchholz

Book Overview

A solitary boy is drawn to his mysterious new neighbor, an artist named Max. He spends hours in Max's studio, but Max is secretive and does not show the boy his pictures -- until he departs on a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374315205
• ISBN13: 9780374315207
• Release Date: October 1999
• Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
• Length: 1 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 9.9" x 13.1"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

paintings to get lost in

This interesting story of friendship between a young musician and an artist reminds me of some of Chris Van Alsburg's work. The plot is somewhat obscure and leaves plenty of room for the reader to imagine and create their own details. What appealed to me the most about this book was the illustrations. I kept looking at them over and over again, getting sucked into the unique stories that might belong to each painting. The main characters were both sad to me in a way because they seemed to be lonely and searching, but never really finding connection except through their art and music. While the story was about their friendship, it left me with the feeling that they were still isolated in the world even from each other. So I wonder if children will be drawn to the story. The illustrations, however, were very appealing, and I think children would appreciate the artistic talent behind the illustrations and enjoy putting their imaginations to work studying them.

Soft, surreal story of friendship and discovery

In ?The Collector of Moments? Mr. Buchholz has written a soft, gentle story of childhood. The main character is an unnamed young boy who is a bit of a loner. He?s picked on by his classmates for being overweight and his out-of-style wire rimmed glasses. But, when he plays the violin, his friend Max, who rents out the third floor of the family?s home, calls him ?Professor? and always listens and usually sings along with him. Max is a painter, but a quiet and somewhat mysterious one. He never shows anyone his paintings before they are completely finished, and he later comments that sometimes there are things in his paintings that even HE doesn?t see or know about. The boy loves to sit in a red chair in Max?s room and simply watch him work, even though he doesn?t know what Max is working on until he?s finished. Max makes frequent trips out of town in which his studio is locked up and the boy has to wait for Max?s return. When Max returns, he has fantastic stories to tell the boy about the things he?s seen, like Canadian Snow Elephants that only appear out of the forest during heavy snowfalls. They are actually larger than African elephants, but are so very rarely seen because of their white coloring and gentle, quiet ways of walking. They boy, who narrates the story, is pretty sure that these stories are just fantastic tales of the imagination, but Max tells them so convincingly that there is a part of the boy that comes to believe in the stories somewhat. When the painter goes on an extended vacation/trip, he leaves all of his paintings out for the boy to look at, as a sort of personal exhibition for one.Here?s where the story becomes odd and wonderful: in each painting there is something odd or unusual is happening, most of which seem to be drawn from Max?s story. In one painting, Canadian Snow Elephants with their three young calves pass almost invisibly between two houses where the neighbors carry on their daily business, oblivious to the great white beasts. In another painting, a rail car from a circus floats mysteriously in the air by a bridge in the early evening; a rope ladder is seen hanging from the open front door...The pictures are neither scary nor even spooky so much as they are simply unusual. I myself could look at them for hours wondering what is going on and what lies just outside the frame of the picture. If anyone has ever enjoyed looking at the paintings of the French surrealist, Renee Magritte and wondering about his floating castles or falling people, then they will certainly enjoy this book. The text is rather heavy the first half dozen or so pages and there are very few illustrations at first. When we get to the part of the story where the boy looks at Max?s paintings, they spread across the whole page, a delight and feast for the eye and a teaser for the mind. But, because of the heaviness of the text, some younger children may not have the stamina to pour through the story to get to the pictures. The st

A beautiful and poignant story.

I chose this book from our local library primarily because I found the title intriguing. I read it to my 6 year old daughter that night and we both loved it. It's a beautiful story and a wonderful way to teach children how each person must find his or her own meaning in great art. I am purchasing several copies - one to keep and others for gifts.

five stars is not enough!

This is my favorite contemporary children's book. The story is touching and the illustrations are magical. The wonderful thing is that this is not merely a children's book, but lovely for all ages. I recommend it for gifts to people that you love - at any age!

Magical!

This is perhaps the most compelling children's book I have ever seen. Though a bit surreal, it has all of the components of a great chldren's book. It's creative, fanciful and touching without being condescending to its youthful readers. What a lovely story of art and friendship.