MUSEUM ABC

For anyone interested in developing the visual vocabulary of a small child, this is the way to do it. The word chosen for each letter is represented by details from four works of art in the Met’s collection. “A” is for Apple, of course, but what vastly different interpretations: the abstraction of Roy Lichtenstein’s Red Apple can be compared to the simplified shapes of the apples on a Greek terracotta circa 460 b.c., while the colorful, impressionistic apples of Paul Cézanne have a counterpoint in the realism of Brian Connelly’s watercolor. The lucky child who can visit the Metropolitan with alphabet book in hand will have fun tracking down some of the works. And those who don’t live near the Big Apple may be enticed into their local museums to find representations of the words chosen here in other collections. A treat for anyone, but particularly for art lovers and their budding connoisseurs. If it were in a bigger format, one might be tempted to keep it on the coffee table. (Picture book. 2-6)