Product Description

A perfect introduction to art for children everywhere, The Art Book, Children's Edition brings the clarity and innovation of Phaidon's best-selling The Art Book to our youngest readers ever. An A to Z guide of 30 great artists - each featured on a double-page spread -and their most famous works designed for both parent and child to enjoy together. The book encourages the children to look closely at the featured works and use their imagination to understand why artists choose to create the pieces they do and in the ways that they do. From Leonardo's Renaissance masterpiece Mona Lisa to Andy Warhol's iconic Marilyn, from Jeff Koons' exuberant, flower-encrusted Puppy to Botticelli's beautiful, flower-strewn Primavera, 30 works have been selected from The Art Book especially forthis edition, chosen for their vital importance in art history as well as their appeal to children. The giants of art history - Van Gogh, Matisse, Rembrandt, Turner and Vel+zquez - are all here, but this edition also offers its readers an introduction to challenging, recent artists including Cindy Sherman and Donald Judd. The Art Book, Children's Edition makes this broad, exciting selection of 30 key works across the history of art clear and accessible to children from age seven and upwards, but will be of interest to readers of all ages.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51487 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 80 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7–Large color reproductions expose readers to a wide variety of art, from the best-known paintings of the 14th and 15th centuries to contemporary photographs and wrap art. European, Asian, and American art is included in the more than 30 discussed works. Illustrations are arranged to fill single pages, spreads, and small squares. The text, at times calligraphic, becomes part of the art as it invites viewers to take more than a cursory look. Questions encourage readers to observe details, while statements of opinion help to provoke new thoughts and elicit emotional responses to the pieces. Because the book is not arranged by chronology, medium, or style, readers have the option to skip around, to pick and choose the works to study–much like visiting favorite paintings in a museum. A concluding section gives the size, location, and dates of the works and the artists birth and death dates. The book will stimulate discussion and a higher level of appreciation of art.–Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Gr. 2-4. Art critic and Phaidon editor, Ruggi offers an excellent, accessible introduction to art that speaks directly to children without condescension. A wide range of artists, from the Renaissance to today, is represented, and each spread features a large color reproduction of a famous work. Interactive questions and simple observations invite children to consider the artists' decisions and connect what is pictured to their own experience. Next to portraits by photographer Cindy Sherman, who takes on a new identity in each image, Ruggi asks, "When you dress up . . . do you also change the way you behave?" Explanations of artistic movements are clear and direct, as in Ruggi's notes about op artist Bridget Riley: "She's not interested in what we see, but in how we see it." She even shares opinions: "I think van Eyck was showing off a little in this picture." Children will come away with a broader sense of art history as well as new confidence to connect with art on their own terms. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Jump start your creative juices
I checked this out from the library and kept it so long, I decided I needed to have my own copy. I am purchasing it, not only for myself and children to look at and discover the art, but as a resource for art projects at the camp I work for. It gets your wheels turning about all the different media and types of art.

Great interactive art book!
This book, along with the Art Book for Children Book One, is a wonderfully imaginative collection of art. Each piece is complemented with great background on the work of art and interactive questions. This isn't an academic resource with a lot of historical or biographical detail, but one that will instill wonder in the reader (including adults). It is PERFECT for children, whether they love to draw or not, and for the folks who read these books to kids. Moms, dads, aunts, uncles, grannies and grandpas -- you'll be really thanked if you get these for the children in your life. Both of my girls, ages 5 and 9, love these two books. Buy them both!

a phenomenal book
great, insightful work; my kids love it and adults will get a lot out of it too.