Resource Center
Books, Software, and Websites
Children’s Book Briefs
Sharon Warwick
What Colour Is Your World? Bob
Gill. New York, NY: Phaidon Press,
Inc., 2007. Illus., hardcover, 32 pp.,
$14.95.
Bob Gill invites young readers to
examine the points of view of many
workers about the colors of their
world. Gill begins the book by introducing children to the different
pronunciations and spellings of the
English language in various countries
where it is the dominant idiom. Readers experience large, accessible text
and colorful illustrations while learning about the relationship of gardeners, beachcombers, bricklayers, and
many other characters to their worlds
of color. The book addresses the idea
of arbitrary color in subtle ways without using that exact terminology. This
book is appropriate for children in
kindergarten through second grade.
Animal Poems of the Iguazú (
Ani-malario del Iguazú). Francisco X.
Alarcón, illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez. San Francisco, CA:
Children’s Book Press, 2008. Illus.,
hardcover, 32 pp., $16.95.
Alarcón, a widely acclaimed poet; and
Gonzalez, an illustrator of more than
twenty children’s books, collaborated
to create a beautiful collection about
the Iguazú waterfalls and Argentine
rainforest. Lovingly rendered in
vibrant colors, the animals present
their stories in English and in Spanish poetry. Spanning three countries
(Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay) the
jungles host a bounty of animals,
insects, thorny reptiles, and stunning
birds and fish. The poems give voice
to the animals’ impressions, feelings,
and lives in the rainforest. This is a
glorious book for elementary classrooms, art classes, and bilingual classrooms. This book will enchant young
readers and their parents.
Bookmarks
Cindy Hasio
Polymer Clay Color Inspirations.
Lindly Haunani and Maggie Mag-gio. New York, NY: Watson-Guptill
Publications, 2009. Softcover, 144
pp., $21.99.
This book shows examples of what
can be created with polymer clay and
a pasta machine. There are colorful,
unique examples from different artists
sharing techniques on how to make
jewelry products and designs that
expand your imagination. Step-by-step
demonstrations teach the reader how
to mix colors of clay, make gradients,
create color combinations, assemble the clay for different patterns,
textures, and how to cut the clay.
Included are worksheets and diagrams
and artist resources. This book is recommended for high-school students
and educators.
Avant Gardeners. Tim Richardson.
New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 2008. Illus., softcover, 352 pp.,
$34.95.
With more than 470 color photos of
artistic gardens all over the world, this
book illustrates inspiring designs for
conceptual landscaping and public
spaces. The work of each designer is
described with plans, photos, and concepts. More than fifty artists express
their contemporary, modern, and
postmodern ideas using nature and
landscape as their media. This engaging book shows how artists challenge
spaces within environmental context and how each artistic landscape
inspires imagination and creativity.
Each work examines new expressions
in garden and landscape design and
allows readers to reflect upon how
nature and art serve a function and a
statement. This book is recommended
for upper-level students and educators.
—Cindy Hasio is a Ph.D. student in art
education at the University of North Texas
in Denton, Texas.
Video Reviews
Cindy Hasio
Dropping in on Grandma Moses.
Glenview, IL: Crystal Productions
2008. DVD, 15 mins., $29.95.
This short animation follows famous
folk artist Anna Mary Robertson
Moses (a.k.a. Grandma Moses). The
story’s interviewer, Puffer, crash lands
on an apple tree only to be met by
Grandma Moses. She invites him into
her home where she describes her life
experiences through her paintings and
how she became an artist late in her
life. Full-screen images of her paintings are accompanied by dialogue
that helps the viewer understand the
stories behind her paintings. A few
paintings such as The Quilting Bee,
A Country Wedding and Moving
Day on the Farm describe the events
in her life and allow the viewer to
understand what folk art is. The DVD
is accompanied by a resource guide
containing detailed descriptions of
Grandma Moses’s paintings, discussion questions, and related classroom
activities.
—Cindy Hasio is a Ph.D. student in art
education and a teaching fellow at the
University of North Texas.
