The Children's Book of Art, Internet Linked

With school starting in the next couple weeks (for all but Wilson Focus School here in Omaha which starts TODAY) I thought I'd share some of my favorite intelligence boosting books. I was not paid to do this review and I am no longer an Usborne Consultant. All links are to my friend Brandi's Usborne Books store if you are interested in ordering and don't already have a consultant friend or two.

The Children's Book of Art

An Introduction to famous paintings

by Rosie Dickins

ISBN: 978-0-7945-1223-1

$14.99 (hardback)

$22.99 (library bound - worth the extra $$$)

About the book:

Over thirty of the world’s best-known, best-loved pictures have been chosen for this fascinating introduction to art for children. There are lots of facts about the artists and their lives, and how they created their work, to help beginners understand what art is and why people think it is important. There are also Internet links to recommended websites where you can view lots more pictures, play art games and create your own art online.

My thoughts:

Usborne Books has a really nice selection of art books and The Children's Book of Art is a wonderful introduction to paintings and understanding them. It's filled with eye catching art and lots of descriptive language to keep their attention and make them think.  

Starting with CLASSIC art by my favorite artist Claude Monet as well as Edgar Degas & Leonardo da Vinci and finishing with MODERN art by Andy Warhol, Rene Magritte and David Hockney kids learn about each artist, the different techniques they used to create the painting, what their inspiration was and even why they used the colors they used to create depth, warmth & coolness, and more.

The book has a few other pages like a Glossary to explain different terms found in the book like Abstract Expressionists, Cubism, the Color Wheel & what complimentary, primary and secondary colors are. It also talks about artists during the Renaissance, what surrealism, frescos and Art Nouveau are. The best part is its written for kids - meaning it's easy to understand and even better is that this book is Internet Linked!

Usborne's Internet Linked books:

Many of Usborne's books are Internet Linked meaning that you can explore art, science, math and more further as your kids are interested. For instance, if you go to: http://Usborne-Quicklinks.com and input the pages you are looking at you will see a list of activities. So, let's enter pages 26-27 and see what information for Edgar Degas pop up. 

Usually you'll have 3-5 activities come up.  Go to the Paris Opera House and try your hand at Gesture Painting, see ballerina's practicing their steps or go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and learn about Degas & compose your own scene of Ballerina's on Stage.

With Usborne's Internet Linked books - you can rest assured that the information is SAFE & ALWAYS up to date. There is a team of teachers that make sure the links work, load new links when a page disappears and make sure that those links don't go to a site you don't want your kids to go to. BUT as always please remember to monitor your kid's internet use & be sure to review the Using the Internet page that is in every Internet Linked book that Usborne publishes. It's toward the end of the book if your wondering. =D

**Warning - this book does have a little nudity so just a heads up. If you prefer not to expose your kids to art with nudity then this is not the book for you. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I am reviewing this book as a service to my readers. Regardless I only recommend products or services I have personally read or used & think my readers will enjoy. I was not compensated for this post in any way. Thanks!