A Child's Book of Art: Discover Great Paintings

"Children look straight into a picture and respond instinctively. Adults who have forgotten how to do this will find it refreshing to look again through the eyes of a child." Paintings can be unsolved mysteries to many of us. When we look at a piece of art, we might want to know why people are wearing certain items or how old the painting is and what it all means. In this book, investigation has been made easier by pictures being taken out of the actual piece of art. So, on the right hand page, you have the complete picture and on the left, you have various pictures "cut out" of the main picture and explained. So, when you are looking at the picture of Saint George and the Dragon, you will see a picture of the dragon and a question that says: "What do you think the dragon stands for?" On the right side, you see an answer: "The dragon is a symbol that stands for evil." In the "Portrait of the Marquise de Pompadour" you might want to know what a rose stands for or why red wax is sitting on the writing table. Lucy Micklethwait first started creating collections of paintings for children after many years of looking at pictures with her own children. This activity introduced her children to the world of art and helped Lucy rediscover her own love of art. Lucy has selected various paintings for different periods in history. Contents: How to Investigate a Painting Saint George and the Dragon Primavera (Spring) The Ambassadors Hunters in the Snow (Winter) An Old Woman Cooking Eggs The Dancing Couple Portrait of the Marquise de Pompadour The Death of Major Peirson Christ in the Carpenter's Shop The Fog Warning The Bedroom at Arles Tropical Forest with Monkeys Self-Portrait with Blue Guitar Quick Quiz Further Activities Also look for: A Child's Book of Art A Child's Book of Play in Art Spot a Cat Spot a Dog ~The Rebecca Review

What a beautiful book! I bought this book for my first-grader with some hesitation since I wasn't so sure whether he would be interested in the fine arts in this era of Pokemon and Digidmon. To my surprise he loved it and wanted to go through the whole book in one sitting.Ms. Micklethwait chose lovely, well-known paintings and she manages to guide young readers to find, understand and appreciate all the small details in these paintings, while at the same time, causing them to gain general knowledge in the process. I found my son copying down the names of the Greek gods in the Primavera painting. The then showed me that Mercurious, the messenger, has wings on his feet to speed his way. Way go go! I will be on the lookout for her other books.