ABCs of Art

Children are never too young to be introduced to great art. This large board book (8X10 inches) offers a large print of an important painting on the right-hand page with the artist’s and painting’s name and the year it was painted. There is also a question that should elicit some activity or thinking from the youngster being read to, such as asking the child to point out the stars in The Starry Night or asking which fruits and vegetables the child can name in Vertumnus. On the facing page is the alphabet letter, what it stands for, and a rhyming couplet that speaks about the painting. Two pages at the back of the book contain a thumbnail of every painting, the letter designation (A is for Apple), the artist’s full name, the title of the painting, the year it was painted, and the place the original is held. The design of the book is very clean to help youngsters to focus on the art. Unfortunately, the rhyming couplets are mostly uninspired and many have poor meter. Also, many of the activity questions are uninteresting and not at all challenging. This is a pretty introduction to art though.