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Release Date: October 3-9

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By BETTY DEBNAM from The Mini P_ by Betty Debnam C 1998 Universal Press Syndicate

The Great Dutch Artist

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Vincent van Gogh THE BEST WAr TO UN'ERSTAN' VAN BOBH IS THROUBH HIS PAINTINBS, SHOWN HERE IN BLACK AN' WHITE. 'IOU WILL WANT TO SEE THEM IN COLOR.

In the Netherlands

"Self-Portrait as an Artist" (1888) shows van Gogh at his easel, holding brushes and a palette loaded with bright colors. Van Gogh's brush marks are always very visible. He drew with the brush, as well as using brush marks to apply color and create textures.

Sometimes we might look at a painting and just see a picture the artist painted. .. Other times we might react to the picture. We might feel the way the artist wanted us to feel. The artist might touch us ill some way. Vincent van Gogh is such an artist. His paintings sincerely express his feelings. He had a human touch that makes viewers relate or feel "at home" with his works. Vincent van Gogh had intense, or strong, feelings. He used color and light and the strokes of his brush to create the • masterpieces that remain among the most popular in the world. He ranks as one of the world's greatest artists.

"The Potato Eaters" is a large painting of Dutch peasants drinking coffee and eating a simple meal of boiled potatoes. This is van Gogh's earliest masterpiece, painted in 1885. He had been painting for only a few years. He considered this to be his best painting ever.

A busy artist Van Gogh was a man with lots of energy. Although his career as an artist lasted less than 10 years, he created about 2,000 paintings and drawings that exist today. He also found time to write letters, mostly to his younger brother, Theo. More than 750 of his letters are still around. He was an intelligent man who could write in and speak French and English, as well as his native Dutch. His art was ahead of its time. While he did have people who admired his paintings, they did not begin to sell until after his death.

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His early years Vincent van Gogh was born in 1853 in a small town in the Netherlands. His father was a preacher. At 16, he took his first job, that of an art dealer. He was not a success. He then became a teacher, and then a missionary. None of these jobs worked out. At 27, he decided to become an artist. He had no idea whether he had the talent or not.

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Ice skating

The Netherlands has a queen, Beatrix, who is the head of state. While her power is limited, she carries out many duties and represents her country abroad. Queen Beatrix is shown here with her husband, Prince Claus.

Lots of bikes The flag of the Netherlands is red, white and blue.

The Netherlands has a large population for its small size, 15.6 million people.

The Netherlands has lots of natural gas and oil, but not many other natural resources. There are also chemical and other factories. Many banks have offices there.

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Fish

Cows

The Netherlands is famous for its tulips and other cut flowers. Fishing is also important.

We often call the country Holland. We call the people who live there the Dutch. from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam

Anne Frank was a Jewish girl who kept a diary while the Germans occupied the Netherlands in World War II. She lived in Amsterdam, the capital.

Three rivers flow through the country to the North Sea. Many goods are shipped down the rivers to busy ports and airports.

The kingdom of the Netherlands includes the land in Europe and six islands in the Caribbean Sea.

Belgium The Netherlands (darkened area above) is on the North Sea. It is bordered by Belgium and Germany.

Wooden shoes

The Netherlands

The Netherlands is a small country in Europe. The word "Netherlands" means "low country." The people have pumped water from swamps, lakes and even the sea to create about 40 percent of the land. Much of it is below sea level. The country would flood if people did not work very hard to keep out water by building dikes, sand dunes and pumping stations. Because it is a flat country, many people use bicycles.

from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam

Release Date: October 3-9

1998 Universal Press Syndicate

Electrical products

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1998 Universal Press Syndicate

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For hundreds of years, windmills pumped water from the low-lying land. Today, electric pumps do the job.

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Mini Spy ... Mini Spy is painting a self-portrait. See if you can find: • • • • • • • • • •

word MINI letter D number 7 canoe pencil ruler kite heart lima bean two number 8's • chicken ~======~:===~~==~~~~====~.~ol~w~e~__~

Words that remind us of Vincent van Gogh are hidden in the block below. Some words are hidden backward. See if you can find: VAN GOGH, VINCENT, NETHERLANDS, ARTIST, THEO, GALLERY, DEALER, PAINTING, ART, PARIS, HOLLAND, MINISTRY, IMPRESSIONIST, CARING, RELIGIOUS, WRITER. V S J S DNA L R E H TEN N A D V INC E N T T S I T R A N E 0 K V Y R ELL A G P R U GAT S

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Release Date: October 3-9

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from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam C 1998 Universal Press Syndicate

Big Ideas in Geography introduces kids to five key points to remember about geography: location, place, how people react and sometimes change their environment, movement and regions. Have fun learning all about maps, foreign places, the environment and the geography ABCs with pictures, puzzles and to-do projects in this Mini Page Resource Book. To order, send check or money order for $4.95 plus $1 postage and handling per copy to: Big Ideas in Geography, P.O. Box 419242, Kansas City, MO 64141. Make checks payable to Andrews McMeel Publishing.

~ Rookie Cookie~ Recipe

Mighty Mustard Chicken You'll need:

.116-ounce can mixed vegetables, drained ·3 tablespoons mustard .3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted .4 chicken breasts

This dot-to-dot is based on a van Gogh painting. Connect the dots to see which one.

What to do:

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1. Place vegetables in a microwave-safe casserole. 2. Combine mustard and butter or margarine in a medium bowl. Mix well . 3. Spread mustard mixture evenly over chicken. Place chicken on vegetables. 4. Cover with waxed paper. 5. Microwave on HIGH 18 minutes or until chicken is done. Turn halfway through cooking. 6. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serves 4.

Meet Travis Tritt .27

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33~ from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam C 1998 Universal Press Syndicate

Travis Tritt, 36, hit the country music scene about nine years ago when his first album, "Country Club," came out. Since then he has sold almost 15 million albums. Among the awards he has won was a Grammy in 1993. Before his success as a singer came, he worked laying carpet, bagging groceries and selling air conditioning and heating units. He grew up in Georgia, where his father worked in a factory. Two of Travis' interests are hot rod racing, which he has liked since he was a kid, and riding motorcycles. He, his wife, Theresa, and daughter, Tyler Reese, live on a 75-acre farm near Marietta, Ga. They have horses, cats and dogs. In 1994, he wrote his autobiography.

The Mini Page

DinOSaur Poster-Plus from A to Z .... t"" {If 'If" X II"}

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Send only checks or money orders payable to: Andrews and McMeel, P.O. Box 419242, Kansas City, Missouri, 64141.

I Please send _ _ copies of The Mini Page Dinosaurs from A to Z Poster-Plus (Item # 7811-9) at $3.75 each, I including postage and handling. (Bulk discount information available upon request.) I Name ______________________________________________ I Address _____________________________________________ ________________________________ IL City State Zip _ _ _ _ __ ~

Q: Why was the chicken arrested when it crossed the road? A: Because fowl play was involved! Q: What did the bald-headed rabbit say to his friend? A: "Hare today and gone tomorrow!" (sent in by Brittany and Michael Hahn) from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam C 1998 Universal Press Syndicate

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40-4 (98) Release Date: October 3-9 from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam C 1998 Universal Press Syndlca1e

A Master of Color and Light In the French countryside

"A Pair of Shoes," painted in 1885, shows that van Gogh was able to give us a sense that these boots had traveled many miles.

Van Gogh in Paris

YOU CAN SEE WHY VAN COCH WAS VERY PROU' OF THIS PAINT/NC.

"The Harvest" was painted after van Gogh tired of Paris and moved to Aries, a small town in the south of France. He painted peasants at work in the cornfields with the mountains in the background. (1888) Yellow is a favorite van Gogh color. While he painted happy pictures, he was a very troubled man.

Van Gogh moved to Paris to live with his younger brother in 1886, six years after he began painting. Theo was an art dealer who believed in Vincent and supported him. Vincent, in turn, sent him many of his paintings. Theo introduced van Gogh to a group of painters called the "Impressionists." They used fresh, bright colors to give impressions of what they saw. They often painted out of doors.

"The Bedroom" features the artist's own room painted in a simple, cozy way. (1888) It was painted when van Gogh was expecting a visit from Paul Gauguin, another artist. Van Gogh hoped that Gauguin and other artists would settle nearby and form an artists' colony. Gauguin was hard to get along with. They quarreled a great deal. After an argument, van Gogh cut off his own ear in a fit of rage.

"Almond Blossom" (1890) was painted as a gift to Theo after the birth of Theo's son. Van Gogh painted it while he was in a mental asylum. He took his own life at the age of 37, in 1890.

"Vegetable Gardens and the Moulin de Blute-Finon-Montmartre" (1887) is a view of Paris many years ago when there were gardens and windmills. The Mini Page thanks Dr. Phillip Conisbee, senior curator of European painting, National Gallery of Art, for help with this issue. Next week, The Mini Page looks at some healthy choices.

"Portrait of Camille Roulin" (1888) is of the son of a local postman. The postman was one of the few friends van Gogh made in the small town.

The exhibit ''Van Gogh's Van Goghs" will be on display at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., from Oct. 4, 1998 through Jan. 3, 1999. It will travel to the Los Angeles County Museum and be on display from Jan. 17 through April 4, 1999.

A site to see about van Gogh: www.nga.gov

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40-5 (98)

Release Date: October 3-9

Meet Vincent van Gogh

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Teacher's Guide

Supersport: Lisa Fernandez

For use by teachers and parents at home and at school. For use with issue: Vincent van Gogh

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by Betty Debnam

Appearing in your newspaper on ____. from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam © 1996 Universal Press Syndicate

(Note to Editor: Above is camera-ready, one columnby-41tt-inch ad promoting Issue 40.)

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Main idea: This issue is about Vincent van Gogh. The following is a list of activities to be used with this issue. They are listed in order of difficulty, with the easier prereader assignments listed first. Most of the the activities are for younger readers. Ask the children to do the following: l.Count the number of van Gogh's paintings in this issue. What do you see in each one? Which do you like best? Why? 2. Look through your newspaper for a photo that might make a good subject for a painting. 3. Discuss the following: What do you or dislike about van Gogh's painting? Why was he such a popular artist? Would like to see an exhibit of his work? Have you ever been to an art museum? What did you see? Do you like to make art? What kind? 4. Who were the Impressionists? Draw or paint a picture trying to use their style. 5. Find every country mentioned in this issue on a globe or world map. 6. Find the following words in this issue: react, impressions, intelligent, portrait, peasants, intense, colony, missionary, rage, Dutch, masterpiece. Define and make up a new sentence for each one. 7. Do research on another Impressionist painter.

(Note to Editor: Above is the Teacher's Guide for Issue 40.)

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Height: 5-6 Birthdate: 2-22-71 Weight: 165 College: UCLA Lisa Fernandez was the pitcher for the U.S. women's softball team that won the gold medal at the 1996 Olympics. During the series, she struck out 31 batters, had a .348 batting average and hit a home run. Earlier this year she helped lead the team to their fourth championship in the Women's World Championships. In college she had a record of 93 wins and 7 losses. She helped the team win two college championships. Her batting average of .510 and her ERA of 0.25 her senior year were best among all college players. Lisa pitched her first softball game at age 8. At 12, she was an infielder on a team of 13- to 15-year-olds. She was born in Long Beach, Calif.

(Note to Editor: Above is copy block for Page 3, Issue 40, to be used in place of ad if desired.)

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