'I enjoyed the ''childrens book of art.'' I think one of the good things about it is that it doesn''t just focus on traditional art, but also modern art and sculpures. I like the small boxes of ''now you try'' (like on page 70.) One of my favourite things (on pages 28&29) saying what they used to make the different colours in the picture.
I think it has alot of pictures but has a good balance of text. I also think that the time lines (like pages 26&27) that curl all over the page. I don''t think I can find anything that could be improved, it is a fact-filled and inspirational book. '
Customer Review:
Review by: Isobel Morley [aged 8], 04 November 2009
'I enjoyed this book because of all the brilliant pictures, and the different explanations of the art. Probably my favourite one is called ‘The Waterlily Pond’ because I thought all art had to be modern and fun but this one showed me a different style of art, so I’ve decided that I don’t always have to draw pictures like me and my friends going to a sweet shop or something. Instead I am going to draw pictures like this one.
I had also heard of the ‘Statue of Liberty’ before reading this book, but I never actually knew what it looked like. This book showed me all different kinds of art that I’d never even heard of. You should really ask for this book for Christmas! It’s wonderful. This book tells you so many facts, you’ll never be bored! The only thing it needs to be better is a little challenge or a recommended website for you to explore further.'
Customer Review:
Review by: Rachel A., 01 November 2009
'This book is more about historic paintings. However the sculptures are very interesting. My favorite part was the giant dog balloon. This book would be good for children age 10-12.'
Customer Review:
Review by: Sam & Megan Harding (Aged 8 & 11), 24 October 2009
'We enjoyed this book because it had fantastic pictures and interesting facts too.
Sam was intrigued by the Terracotta Army section and the ancient art - there are some great pictures and he was amazed by how old some of the sculptures and statues were. He also did a project at school on Monet so was pleased to see a section on that too (including his favourite The Waterlily Pond).
Megan liked the front cover which is like a frame.
We also were surprised how many different types of art there are and we have learnt a lot reading through this book. We think it will be useful in the future as a reference for school. '
Customer Review:
Review by: Mark Campion, 23 October 2009
'A Children’s Book of Art must be visually spot-on, and this book does not disappoint. My children were immediately drawn by the bold design. The layout of pages is excellent: the text is easy to read without compromising on some very interesting detail. Some difficult art terms are explained in simple terms without losing their essence. My children were very pleased to find that the artists they were studying at primary school were featured and felt that the information will be very helpful for project work. However, my children did not see this simply as a book to use as a homework help; far more, they enjoyed browsing the book and learning from it. My older daughter (age 11) loves to learn new art techniques and styles and the book provides some useful explanation of how to do it, although I doubt many readers will have a block of marble to hand! Younger children love the sheer number of pictures in the book even if they can’t read well; older children (upper primary school and lower secondary school) will be benefit from the text, although they may see the title of the book as a little off-putting if they consider themselves as being a young person rather than child. As a final aside, my daughter Lily Rose was delighted to find John Singer Sargent’s ‘Carnation , Lily, Lily, Rose’ oil on canvas featured in the book! '
Customer Review:
Review by: Joshua Morley, 23 October 2009
'This is a fantastic book. Because I have never read a book on art before, and don''t really enjoy the subject at school but I found myself reading on late into the night. I particularly enjoyed the street art section, and the section on Claude Monet whom I studied in year three. The reason I enjoyed the section on street art was it was modern and also really clever the way they made it look so realistic. I enjoyed Monet partly because I already know a little bit about him and also he draws pictures of his garden which I enjoyed. I find that there is a good balance of pictures and writing and has time lines on some of the pages. The writing style is intriguing and doesn''t have too many complicated words. The text style is easy to read. Some things it could improve on: some sort of activity at the end such as a quiz, or who drew this picture. I''m not sure you can make it better in any other way though, and I will please my Mum and Dad by asking them if we can go to an art gallery this holiday. Thank you ever so much for letting me become a Bookbuster. '
Customer Review:
Review by: Carolyne and Rachel Mitchell, 21 October 2009
'I reviewed this book with my 11 year old daughter. We found it a great book for a cold wet October school break! The book draws you in, (no pun intended) from the cover, shaped like a picture frame with different types of art held within. We went through the book and found sections that:
Amazed us -
One of our favourite parts was learning about how colours were made. Did you know that sunflower seeds were used to make the lilac shade of purple?;
Carved in Stone - how did they do that?;
Street Art, some of this is quite beautiful. Walls are the new canvas!
We also found sections that we loved -
Claude Monet, his pictures of the Waterlily Pond are beautiful;
Children in Art - these pictures are amazing. Our favourite was Girl with Cat, 1989.
We both liked -
the Chinese Art, particularly the Min and Yuan Dynasty styles;
the picture of a face done using fruit, vegetables and flowers!; the cave art and, Henri Matisse, with his clever pictures and loads of details that we were unsure of in the beginning but learned to really like once we had studied them.
We were also big fans of the Naive Art, especially Beryl Cook (Granny the Lion Tamer) and Ivan Rabuzin (My World).
Much as we found lots of artists we loved, we also found that there were many that we did not;
Jackson Pollock - just do not get it!; Sir Sidney Nolan; Francisco de Goya, too dark and gruesome and Pablo Picasso, just too weird.
This book really made us think, learn and have fun learning about art.
I learned that I have quite different taste from my 11 year old daughter. She likes much more modern art, whilst I prefer much more traditional art.
It gives you lots of information but it is spread out and really well balanced with all of the pictures, that you do not feel bored at all.
We would thoroughly recommend it.'
Customer Review:
Review by: Tracey Scholey, 20 October 2009
'Wow! This book is great. It''s a brilliant introduction to Art with some fabulous pictures, facts and photographs. I am a school Librarian and I took it to our after school art group for them to read, use and offer their opinions. They were very impressed. Firstly they like the fact that it was easy to find the information they were looking for. They were designing their own posters in the style of Pop Art and the "now you try..." tip at the bottom of the page really inspired them, they immediately began to make their plans. The group also liked the "how did they do that?" pages as it showed them how to create a piece of art in pastels, mosaics or oil paints from start to finish. I left the book with the art teacher for her to use in lessons. She commented on the fact that the artists'' biographies were very useful as they were concise, factual and included influences which was a great help when discussing a particular artist. She said the first pages "What is art?" were a great starting point and opened up many discussions in her classroom. The teacher also found the pages that included timelines in art useful as they are easy to follow, visually great and have some classic examples of the development of an artistic genre. The sections like landscapes or animals in art give some good examples of how artists from various eras have depicted the same subject with very different effects. The art teacher said these were perfect for lessons when she gives students a topic and leaves them to explore styles, colours and techniques. As a Librarian I really like the front cover as it looks bright and interesting on the shelves and you can tell immediately what the book is about. It''s very easy to locate information by using either the contents page or the index and the "seeing things" tips on some pages tell you where to go for further information. The text is very readable and highlights key terms and phrases. It is a brilliant addition to my Library.'
Customer Review:
Review by: A Sutherland, 19 October 2009
'Inspirational! Everything a child could want to know about art through the ages is clearly explained and beautifully illustrated throughout this wonderful book. Used as a reference tool or a stimulus for creation of art, ''The Children''s Book of Art'' has it all. Gripping from the very start, the question ''What is Art?'' is posed on the first couple of pages, encouraging the reader to really think about what art is. As a teacher, this book will be invaluable in the classroom as a form of inspiration and education. It is a very interesting read and has helped me to ''brush up'' on my knowledge of art, so while child friendly it is packed with accessible information. Artist profiles, timelines, historical information, ''how to'' sections and fabulous images really make this book come to life. It''s the kind of book you can dip in and out of for practical or reference purposes. Fantastic.'
Customer Review:
Review by: Jackie Howlett, 18 October 2009
'DO judge this book by its cover! Step inside this fantastic FRAME of reference and bring out the inner artist in your little ones. Awash with inspiration, budding artists can ‘dip in’ anywhere, if you can put the book down first. Fun, informative facts illustrate every page from past to present; it’s a portable art gallery with an artist for everybody. Just one warning ... there’ll be a rush for the brushes!'
Customer Review:
Review by: Emma Gasson , 15 October 2009
'I was very excited when I got this book, it looks very exciting and I love art. I have seen some of the things in it, like the bean in Chicago and the Mona Lisa. The how did they do that part is amazing because it shows you how the artist would have drawn the picture. There are lots of different styles of art to look at. I mostly like just looking at the pictures. My sister is doing art GCSE and she has been stealing it!'
Customer Review:
Review by: Emily ( aged 10 ), 14 October 2009
'I liked this book because it told you lots about art from how it started, to art today. My favourite bit was about the big balloon dog. I think it would have been very hard to build. I love art so I really liked this book. I think there was too many timelines about different artists and I got a bit bored after reading a couple. This book was still very good and I would definatly read it again and again.'
Customer Review:
Review by: Isaac Tidy, 12 October 2009
'This book is full of well set out, facinating information on artists and art. I felt the title would put off older children reading this as thought it would be usefull to High school children studying art as well as younger children. Thought all the pictures were great and the way the book was set out made it very easy to read.'
Customer Review:
Review by: Matthew Syers (aged 8), 12 October 2009
'I thought the art book was good. I especially enjoyed the comic picture on page 92. I found the time-line very informative. The information and pictures went well together. '
Customer Review:
Review by: Imogen Elena Easton, 11 October 2009
'I liked this book very much. It showed me lots of works by different artists and I loved how it was layed out. It shows how artists produced their work and how children can do it themselves. One of my favourite pages was the one about the paintings of Ned Kelly by Sir Sidney Nolan. This book tells children everything they need to know about art and it is brilliant.'
Customer Review:
Review by: Libby Syers (Aged 6), 10 October 2009
'I liked the art book, but if the pictures were the same size you could see them better and if the writing was larger, it would be easier to read. I found some of the pictures scary. I enjoyed the size of the book and the feel of the pages.'
Customer Review:
Review by: The Listening Lens: Claudia Schechter, 08 October 2009
'Marvelous introduction to art styles, methods to produce the work and information on various artists who influenced the art world.'
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