Books, Posters, and Websites
Children’s Book Briefs
Palazzo Inverso. D.B. Johnson. Bos-
ton, MA: Houghton Mifflin Har-
court, 2010. Illus., hardcover, 32 pp.,
$17.00.
Mauk takes his nickname and his
inspiration from the impossible buildings of Dutch artist M. C. Escher. He
is apprentice to a master builder who
is working on a Grand Palazzo when
he is catapulted into a topsy-turvy
world where workers stand upright
and hang upside-down at the same
time. The Master blames Mauk for
everything that goes wrong, even
though Mauk only sharpens his pencils. The reader participates in the
adventure by turning the book from
viewpoint to viewpoint and sending
Mauk back to the beginning of the
story like a mobius strip or circular
loop. Fun is had by all in the end,
especially by the young reader who is
curious enough to enter this story.
—Reviewed by Sharon Warwick, an art
educator from Denton, Texas.
Horse Drawing Studio. Mary Iverson.
Staten Island, NY: Artlab, 2008.
Illus., softcover, 24 pp., $24.99.
Inside this creative kit is a very engaging book that provides innovative,
simple-to-understand instructions on
drawing horses. Included with this
activity book are drawing pencils,
colored pastels, an eraser, and two
armatures of horses that can be posed
for drawing.
The book shows a diversity of
poses for horses, different methods
for creating textures, and step-by-step instructions on how to draw
them using simple geometric shapes.
The book also encourages readers to
explore on their own and experiment
with different backgrounds, accessories, and colors to enhance their
horse drawings. A cute Labrador dog
(the “Art Lab”) appears on some of
the pages and gives historical insights
and thoughts about horses. The Art
Lab also describes mythological
horses such as unicorns, prehistoric
horses, and other interesting facts
and stories about horses that make
learning fun. Although this book is
targeted mainly to younger ages, this
book, along with the armature, can be
very motivating for anyone.
—Reviewed by Cindy Hasio, a Ph.D. student in art education at the University of
North Texas in Denton, Texas.
Bookmarks
Cindy Hasio
I Heard God Talking to Me: William
Edmondson and His Stone Paintings.
Elizabeth Spires. New York, NY:
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009.
Illus., hardcover, 64 pp., $17.95.
This book uses the striking black-
and-white photographs of William
Edmondson’s stone sculptures to
enhance and reflect the poetry of
award-winning writer Elizabeth
Spires. Spires writes poetry based on
the life and work of sculptor William
Edmondson. Edmondson’s own words
from archived interviews are woven
into Spire’s poetry, and tell the story
of his life and work in a creative docu-
mentation of African-American art.
The poetry also provides insight and
first-person perspectives that enhance
the appeal of Edmonson’s work. The
format of this book makes it easy to
read and each poem is featured next to
a beautiful photo of Edmonson’s work.
This book is recommended for adults
and high-school students.
Textiles Today: A Global Survey
of Trends and Traditions. Chloe
Colchester. New York, NY: Thames
and Hudson, 2007. lllus., hardcover,
208 pp., $50.00.
This book features more than 381
beautiful photographs and illustrations that document innovative textile designs from artists all over the
world. The book describes the aspects
of innovation in the textile industry
and global economy, and shows the
innovative art created from nanotechnology, fabrics, plastics, recycled
objects, and optic fibers. The book
also includes descriptions of how each
design serves a function. Each page
displays very creative designs and a
diversity of media that engages any
reader to learn about new concepts in
pattern, place, technology, and culture. This book is recommended for
upper-level students and educators.
