Child's Book of Art: Discover Great Paintings, A - Hardcover

Kindergarten-Grade 5-According to the author, "A painting is like an unsolved mystery," a statement that reflects the thesis and purpose of this inspiring volume. Children are directed to look for clues and answer thought-provoking questions about 13 masterpieces. Works such as Botticelli's Primavera, Bruegel's Hunters in the Snow, van Gogh's The Bedroom at Arles, and Rousseau's Tropical Forest with Monkeys are presented on double-page spreads and introduced with brief annotations. The left-hand page provides close-ups of details from the painting and asks questions related to these images while the right-hand page presents a full-color reproduction along with facts about the artist and answers to many of the questions. For example, for van der Weyden's Saint George and the Dragon, readers are shown a detail of the castle in the background and asked, "Who do you think lives here?" Children will react spontaneously to the color, the action, and the texture of these works of art, and the inquiry method of observation will help them to develop a sensitivity to detail and analysis. Micklethwait's A Child's Book of Art: Great Pictures, First Words (1993) and A Child's Book of Play in Art (1996, both DK) are fine companion volumes.
Patricia Mahoney Brown, Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, Kenmore, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.