Indigo is a boy with a dream. He wants to be a famous artist when he grows up, but he’s never had a real family or a home. He spends his nights in a shelter and his days working odd jobs to buy new art supplies.Jade is his best friend who has helped feed him and keep him safe. When she is arrested for shoplifting, Indigo sets off on a journey where he finds new people, and the courage to pursue … to pursue his dreams.
Follow Indigo on a journey that teaches him the meaning of friendship, family… and shows him that dreams really do come true.
A novel for children ages 9-12.
more
Might be one of the ones worth keeping in paperback, it’s heart-warming.
So great.
I loved this book!
If you are looking for a children’s book to give them a little insight on homelessness and on humanizing a homeless child for them, as well as on having a dream, this is it. Of course, being for kids it didn’t get deeply into the horrors a child would experience living for 5 years on the street without a parent (but most of the time with a young homeless woman guardian). It is meant to be inspirational. But this book won’t work for my purposes, teaching ESL. I do not believe the parents of my students would appreciate my introducing the fear to them that a mother could simply abandon their own child on the street. However, on a more positive note, the homeless boy wants to be an artist and achieves his goal on a grand scale.
While written for middle grade readers, even a grandma like me can appreciate this little gem of a story. It is a tale of resilience, friendship, and following your dreams. It teaches us to never hide our talents but to reach our true potential, we need to share them. And we learn there are still good people in the world who are trying to do the right thing even when it is hard to do.
Thanks for the opportunity to write a review. This is supposed to be for middle grades; I am past seventy and I could not put it down. I suppose part of that may have to do with the fact that I am a teacher as well as an adoptive mother. It is an excellent story and I will be happy to us it with students. I hope to read more by this author!
This is a great feel good book. Nice to read after so much heavy stuff.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Boy Who Painted the World and have recommended it to several people.
Although written in the style of realistic fiction, this story is more hopeful than realistic. Very refreshing! Hope can inspire change in people more than plain realism can.
This one really touched my heart.
Stayed up until I finished it!
A mother leaves a five-year-old boy sitting the sidewalk, telling him to wait there for one minute. A fifteen-year old girl comes along hours later and sits next to the boy, introducing herself to him as Jade. When she asks his name, he says Indigo since he doesn’t want to tell Jade his real name, and indigo is the name of the crayon he’s using to draw. Five years pass with Jade and Indigo living on the street, staying in shelters and eating at soup kitchens when there’s no money. Indigo shovels snow to get cash for food and to buy colored pencils to use for his drawings, but his hands are chapped to the point of bleeding. Jade has been like a mother to Indigo, but she is arrested shoplifting vaseline for his hands. At age ten, Indigo is on his own. What happens next has a fairy tale quality as Indigo makes one connection after another with good people. While unrealistic, the book is heartwarming and well worth reading.
loved, loved, loved this book! I read it with my grandchildren and all of us were anxiously looking forward to the next chapter to see what was going to happen.
Readers can relate to several of the characters. Your heart is captured by Indigo and you want to root for him.
His story keeps tugging at your heart strings as the story unveils itself. It can lead to good discussions with children .It is contemporary and readers could create alternative endings.
While the subtitle of this book indicates a middle grade novel, this book can be enjoyed by adults as well. It tells the story of Indigo, a ten-year-old boy who is abandoned by his mother. He finds a friend with Jade, an older teen, who tries to take care of him until fate intervenes. They are separated and Indigo is forced to fend for himself. Indigo has a passion for painting. It fuels his desire to survive. He is resilient and resourceful. While Indigo is wary of trusting others, he gradually learns to reach out and experience a connection to others.
Bremen does a marvelous job of painting her characters and developing them for her readers. Each page reveals a different layer. This book is addictive, once opened the reader will have difficulty putting it aside. Readers cannot wait to discover what will happen to Indigo and his newly found friends and enemies.
This is a powerful story about resilience, homelessness, and adoption. These issues are addressed within a moving novel that encourages deep thought and discussion. Highly recommended for readers aged ten and older.
Loved this book. I will be using it in my reading class next year.
An exceptional story, not just for young people, about how to care for others!
Sweet and uplifting although somewhat far fetched in believability.
The Boy Who Painted the World by Melody J. Bremen is the story of a 10 year old homeless boy, Indigo, who loves to paint and wishes to one day be a famous painter.
This is an incredible story of loss, love, determination, and strength. I felt Indigo’s emotions throughout the story. I watched as he grew and became more and more determined to be the painter he always wanted to be. This is a great story for children 9-12, or like me, just a kid at heart.