Welcome to Robert Florczak.com

THE RAINBOW BRIDGE

An American Bookseller Pick of the Lists

Kirkus Reviews
October 1, 1995

Florczak displays his virtuosity in the oil illustrations; the closest analogy to his technique would be found in the Pre-Raphaelites. The grandeur of the compositions -- the goddess in majestic poses, with her drapery flying about her, the play of light on water and in the sky, the scenes of innocence and beauty in this newly formed world -- contributes to an impressive piece of work.

School Library Journal
October 1, 1995

This lesser-known Native American legend . . . is attractive in itself, but it has been given truly compelling illustrations. At first, they appear to be magically enhanced, slightly surreal photographs. Florczak paints with layers of translucent oil glazes, painstakingly creating a lucidity of detail and superrealistic surface textures of skin, rock, water, cloth, cloud, and, above all, light. Dramatic shadow, pellucid atmosphere, and irridescent color suggest Caravaggio crossed with Maxfield Parrish. The natural scenery is stunning. California poppies and Chumash basketry are juxtaposed with intricate, Baroque folds of Hutashís swirling shawl. Dynamic pictures and an unusual story set this volume apart from the familiar run of Native American tales.

Booklist
December 1, 1995

Dramatic in composition and hyperrealistic in detail, the distinctive artwork sometimes looks as perfect as a photograph, sometimes as fantastic as a dream, and sometimes, as idealized, otherworldly, and emotionally cool as a Maxfield Parrish painting.

Publishers Weekly
December 23, 1995

Wood and debut illustrator Florczak offer a transcendent adaptation of a Native American tale, their work a shining example of economy and elegance of text, originality of interpretation and dazzling illustrative technique . . . Working in layers, transparent oil glazes, Florczak produces a masterly piece of magical realism, infusing his sharply detailed paintings with light and colors of dreamlike brilliance. The figures, reminiscent of classical imagery in form and pose, seem to spring forth from the pages with an almost stereoscopic depth. Collaborative storytelling at its best. (starred review)

Copley News Service
December 27, 1995

It would be a crime to ignore a book as gorgeous as "The Rainbow Bridge". . . Wood's tale is easy to read, while Florczakís paintings are realistically spellbinding.

ROUGH SKETCH BEGINNING

Los Angeles Times Book Review
April 14, 1996
Jamaican author James Berry's poem about an artist sketching ideas for a landscape is as rich in images as the drawings that artist Robert Florczak has borrowed from his sketchbooks to accompany the words. The resulting combination of words and pictures is a thought-provoking and imagination-stimulating meditation on the creative process.

School Library Journal
May 1, 1996
Teachers looking for a good book that combines lessons on writing and art need look no further. This volume pairs Berry's poem about the genesis of an idea with drawings and paintings that bring it to life. Each line is splashed against a two-page spread. Rough sketches build to a beautiful four-page spread linking the mountains, lightning, birds, and trees of Berryís poem, dramatically demonstrating how an idea can be transformed into reality via art. Any library would find this title a useful addition due to the quality of both its poetry and illustrations.

Booklist
May 1, 1996
To accompany [Berry's] poetic imaginings, artist Florczak has culled drawings from his personal sketchbooks of travels throughout the world. The resulting combination of words and images is a thought-provoking, imagination-stimulating meditation on the creative process. To bring closure to Berryís reflections and his own sketches, Florczak has incorporated their many disparate elements into a concluding painting of an Edenic landscape that stretches over a four-page gatefold and is reminiscent of ambitious paintings from the Hudson River school. A beautifully written, lavishly designed, and ingeniously illustrated book.

In 1997, the Children's Book Council instituted the Not Just For Children Anymore! catalog. This catalog contains over one hundred children's books selected by a distinguished panel of booksellers as titles that adults would enjoy and purchase for themselves and other adults. ROUGH SKETCH BEGINNING Wonders of nature are described in unique and poetic metaphors; text and images combine in a majestic work of art. Each view forms a double-page spread for meditation.

BIRDSONG

Publishers Weekly
July 7, 1997
Wood's text gives readers helpful clues about the settings for Florczak's ornate and impressively diverse double-page spreads. Employing a variety of media, Florczak captures the light and air of every locale, so that each takes on its own character and life, from the pigeons in an urban park to a heron taking flight over water. Depicting the birds in the foreground against a frame of indigenous flower and fauna, Florczak then takes the bird in the context of its habitat to convey its size and scale. The illustrations naturally draw the reader's eye . . . Common sounds . . . will carry readers through the book, but watching the birds take flight is what they'll remember.

Kirkus Reviews
August 15, 1997
"Wood covers 14 birds from North America in their original habitats in this sumptuously illustrated, visually busy book. . . The spreads offer panoramic views of habitats, portraits of the birds, and stylized borders of state flowers characteristic of the habitats. The juxtaposition of these borders and extremely realistic paintings of the birds can be startling, but appealing."

THE PERSIAN CINDERELLA

Kirkus Reviews
April 15, 1999
A luminescent interpretation of an ancient Persian tale . . . Florczak's meticulously researched illustrations faithfully depict the ornate beauty of an ancient land. Minutely detailed borders frame the text while vibrant images stream in saturated colors across the pages.

Publishers Weekly
June 7, 1999
Pomegranate trees, jasmine flowers and other Persian botanicals adorn Florczak's effervescent landscapes framed with intricate borders . . . the exotic setting and cultural details make this one of interest to any collector of Cinderella tales.

Booklist
July 1, 1999
Florczak's illustrations are stunningly exotic and beautiful, with each fold of clothing, each reflection on a surface, and each leaf on a tree lovingly portrayed. The people look as lifelike as photographs, each face unique. A fine addition for any folktale collection.

School Library Journal
July 1999
Florczak's sumptuous illustrations have jewel-like tones that glow against the brownline-paper background, and traditional designs decorate the text. The illustrations are realistic and appealing. . . . a suitable complement to Climo's other Cinderella stories.

THE MAGIC FISHBONE

The Dickens Fellowship, London
Jan. 31, 2000
(This) new edition, so attractively and wittily illustrated by Robert Florczak, cannot fail to appeal to a new generation of readers. Charles Dickens himself would have been delighted to see Alice Rainbird's romance so beautifully realised.

School Library Journal
Fall 2000
Dickens' marvelously descriptive turns of phrase and Florczak's pencil and oil illustrations bring to life this story of an endearing and rambunctious Victorian family. The realistic tintype complexions and meticulous outlines of the characters play against detailed backgrounds that artfully blend the prosaic with the fantastic. Unusual and beautifully rendered in words and pictures, this is a fine addition to a unit of literary fairy tales, a droll introduction to Dickens, and an example of purely entertaining wish fullfillment.

Publishers Weekly
October 9, 2000
Glowing color illustrations by Robert Florczak infuse the Victorian setting with just a hint of romance, while the dramatic perspectives and use of silhouettes are coolly contemporary.

Booklist
January 1, 2001

...a fantasy...as interpreted in Florczak's lively and suitably stylized illustrations. The characters are depicted with a soft-edged realism that sometimes has the quality of tinted photographs, while the colors, settings, and composition are more reminiscent of an old volume of nursery rhymes. A quirky but amusing interpretation of Dickens' tale in a handsome, large format book.

A COWBOY CHRISTMAS

Booklist
September 1, 2001

...the Western setting, both in words and pictures, is quietly dramatic. ...There's an old-fashioned feel to the large-size oil paint illustrations, which contrast the warm, glowing indoor scenes with the cold blues and grays of the stark southwest plains. One unforgettable image shows the exhausted cowboy slumped and alone on his horse under the night sky.

Publishers Weekly
September 24, 2001

Florczak's realistic oil paintings, aglow with light and shadow, make ample use of the Western setting. Scenes of cowboys camped around a fire inject a dose of humor, while stunning paintings of Cully's riderless horse on a snowy cliff and Evan's mother strolling with Cully under leafy birch trees convey the dramatic events.

Kirkus Reviews
October 1, 2001

Florczak's sumptuous full-paged paintings add greatly to the overall effect, with varying perspectives and clever use of shadows. (One memorable illustration shows three shocked cowboys interrupted at their dinner of beans and coffee with the looming shadow of a bear falling across the page.)

School Library Journal
October 2001

...(an) attractive book ... Florczak's evocotive, romanticized oil paintings are the high points.

YIKES!!!

Publishers Weekly
September 8, 2003

"In his first work as both author and illustrator, Florczak aims for the younger set....Dispensing with the painterly style of his work in The Rainbow Bridge, Florczak inflates scale and employs heightened, sometimes psychedelic color to play up another forte: startling photo-realism....Kids who like their animals ferocious will be wild for this one."

School Library Journal
November 2003

"...in hyperrealistic, Technicolor-style paintings, a boy dressed in safari clothes romps his way through numerous wild landscapes.... In the absence of a story, the real point of interest here is the illustrations, which are bright and arresting, and use unusual perspectives to create a sense of danger. Children who enjoy paintings that look like photographs will "oooh" and "aaah" their way through this one."

Booklist
November 2003

"......extra large double-page spreads in bright neon colors show her (sic) close-up encounters with fierce animals.... The thrilling adventure will appeal to preschoolers, and the conservation message will grab them, too."