Resource Center
Children’s Book Briefs
Sharon Warwick
Spot a Dog: A Child’s Book of Art.
Lucy Micklethwait. London: Doring
Kindersley, 1995. Illus., hardcover,
32 pp., $9.95.
Micklethwait pairs full-color
examples of artworks containing
dogs with questions and suggestions for spotting the subtly placed
animals in each work of art. Artists
like Renoir, Steen, Blake, Bonnard,
Stubbs, Degas, Brueghal, Lowery,
Léger, Picasso, Verrocchio, and
Fabriano all included mysterious
canines in their works of art. It is
a game of I Spy to find dogs in this
attractive art book for young children.
The Art Book for Children. Liz
Thompson. New York, NY: Phaidon
Press, 2005. Illus., hardcover, 80
pp., $19.95.
This beautifully illustrated and
intriguing book is an A to Z guide
to thirty significant artists and
their works. It actively engages
readers in using imagination and
critical thinking to understand hidden themes and to discover inspiration and intention behind paintings,
sculptures, and photographs of great
artists. The book covers giants from
art history like van Gogh and Rembrandt, and it also offers children
an introduction to contemporary
artists like Cindy Sherman, Donald
Judd, and Jeff Koons. Packed with
fascinating pictures and facts, this
book will encourage greater understanding of the range and scope of
ideas in artworks.
A Nickel, a Trolley, a Treasure
House. Sharon Reiss Baker, illustrated by Beth Peck. New York, NY:
Viking, 2007. Illus., hardcover, 32
pp., $16.99.
Sharon Reiss Baker takes readers
back to the turn of the last century in New York City’s Lower
East Side where Lionel lives on
Delancy Street. His narrow world
is expanded and enriched by his art
teacher, Miss Morrissey, who pays
the nickel to take Lionel on a trolly
car uptown to the Metropolitan
Museum of Art. This beautifully
illustrated story of the inspiring
actions of a caring art teacher in the
early 1900s, the transformation of a
young boy to a young artist, and the
impact of beautiful artworks on the
impressionable young viewer will
motivate children and touch the
hearts of readers young and mature.
This is a book every parent and
teacher with a creative child should
read and enjoy.
—Sharon Warwick is a National Art Consultant for Davis Publications.
Bookmarks
The Joy of Beading. Anna Borrelli.
New York, NY: Watson-Guptill
Publications, 2005. Illus., softcover,
200 pp., $19.95.
The charm of beads has long
entranced and influenced different cultures. For example, beads
played an enormous role in the
trade between Native Americans
and explorers. Certain beads, such
as turquoise, were regarded by
Tibetans as protection from evil
spirits. Ornamentation is equally
important in our culture today, and
the use of beads has expanded the
realm of jewelry and fashion. This
book includes crisply photographed,
step-by-step techniques that appeal
to beginners. More than fifty projects are demonstrated, with special
emphasis on decorative plants and
flowers, jewelry, and accessories
such as frames, key rings, and
monograms. This book provides an
enjoyable introduction for educators
to consider for personal practice or
classroom use.
Gardens in Art. Lucia Impelluso.
Los Angeles, CA: Getty Publications, 2007. Illus., softcover, 384
pp., $24.95.
If ever there was a book that you
wanted to literally step inside of
and walk around in, this one is it.
The presentation is sophisticated
and provides a chronological organization of the subject. An overview
of symbolic meanings in gardens
is established and specific typolo-gies are examined. The gem of this
book is how content is aligned with
paintings that are rich subjects of
contemplation for both beauty and
iconographic meaning. The written
analysis introduces us to the signs
and allegories represented within
paintings of gardens. For instance,
did you know that some gardens
were intended to be experienced as
“quotations” of inspiration from literature? Originally printed in Italian, this translation is a welcome
addition to any American library.
