Consider this a must-have art resource for all ages.
Ingenious and wonderfully inviting, this is a well-conceived and beautifully produced compilation of brief biographies and selective insights into the lives and works of over 40 artists.
Anchored in the collection of the renowned National Gallery of Art (Washington D.C.), it is drawn from the NGA’s long-running series of lively four-page family-education publications, the NGAkids Quarterly. The overviews span art movements, methods and media from the 13th through the 21st centuries. The carefully constructed discussion starters are organized into seven broad sections: nature, places, portraits, stories, everyday life, questioning tradition and playing with space. Generously illustrated with hundreds of full-color reproductions from the National Gallery’s collection, these minilessons are bolstered by relevant and doable activities that respond to the diverse artists’ works and techniques. An inclusive, superb handbook for art educators and art historians, this has strong appeal for parents and children seeking a fresh approach to engaging with the art on museum walls. Though the publisher suggests that this information-rich collection is best for ages 7 to 12, the book’s sophisticated design and cunning mix of accessibility and complexity enlarge the audience to grade schoolers through seniors.
Consider this a must-have art resource for all ages. (table of contents, timeline of artists) (Nonfiction. 7 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-61374-897-8
Page Count: 180
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
This genuinely clever math book uses rhyming couplets and riddles, as well as visual cues to help the reader find new ways to group numbers for quick counting. It’s a return to number sets, with none of those boring parentheses and <>signs. Here the rhyme gives a clue to the new ways of grouping numbers. For example: “Mama mia, pizza pie, / How many mushrooms do you spy? / Please don’t count them, it’s too slow, / This hot pie was made to go! / Let me give you some advice, / Just do half and count it twice.” A quick look at the pizza, and the reader can see each slice has the same number of mushrooms. Count by threes for half the pie, and double it. Each rhyme is given a double-page spread. The extra-large, brightly colored images leap off the page but never distract from the author’s intent. Some riddles are very challenging, but the author provides all the solutions in the back. Once the reader has seen the answers, the strategy is obvious and can be applied to other situations. Great fun for math enthusiasts and creative thinkers, this might also teach adults some new tricks. A winning addition. (Nonfiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-439-21033-X
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2000
Though usually cast as the trickster, Coyote is more victim than victimizer, making this a nice complement to other Coyote...
Two republished tales by a Greco-Cherokee author feature both folkloric and modern elements as well as new illustrations.
One of the two has never been offered south of the (Canadian) border. In “Coyote Sings to the Moon,” the doo-wop hymn sung nightly by Old Woman and all the animals except tone-deaf Coyote isn’t enough to keep Moon from hiding out at the bottom of the lake—until she is finally driven forth by Coyote’s awful wailing. She has been trying to return to the lake ever since, but that piercing howl keeps her in the sky. In “Coyote’s New Suit” he is schooled in trickery by Raven, who convinces him to steal the pelts of all the other animals while they’re bathing, sends the bare animals to take clothes from the humans’ clothesline, and then sets the stage for a ruckus by suggesting that Coyote could make space in his overcrowded closet by having a yard sale. No violence ensues, but from then to now humans and animals have not spoken to one another. In Eggenschwiler’s monochrome scenes Coyote and the rest stand on hind legs and (when stripped bare) sport human limbs. Old Woman might be Native American; the only other completely human figure is a pale-skinned girl.
Though usually cast as the trickster, Coyote is more victim than victimizer, making this a nice complement to other Coyote tales. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-55498-833-4
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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