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5 Minutes for Books — Experiencing Art for Kids

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Hello Rousseau! and Hello Matisse!, both by Catherine de Duve, allow kids to get to know the artists through historical background, stories, and activities that put the reader into the fun. The reader is asked to draw a landscape in the style of Rousseau, looking closely at his style. The book encourages the reader to experiment with color techniques and shades, and invites the child to respond to write a story in response to one of the paintings.

These thin books would be a great take-along on a trip or a wonderful rainy day activity. I think they would be appropriate for kids interested in art from seven up to twelve.

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Gallery Ghost takes children on a mysterious hunt through the National Gallery in Washington D.C. Readers search the paintings for places where the Gallery Ghosts (other artists) have inserted items into the wrong paintings. This is a fun book and definitely appeals to the mystery-solver in my nine-year-old daughter, and it’s also educational. In order to find the items inserted, you have to refer back to the pages which describe each artist’s style. There is a scorecard at the back of the book where the reader can keep track of the number of times that each specific ghost’s work appears. The ghost who has popped into the most other paintings is the one who will be rewarded by Sarah, the art student who is tracking the changes.

This would be a great book to prepare for a trip to the National Gallery or as a memento to extend the experiences from a previous trip. It would be most appropriate for nine-year-olds and up.

One reader (U.S. shipping addresses only) will win a copy of all three books. Please leave a comment if you are interested in winning and check back here in next week’s column to see if you have won.

The winners of the first three books in the The Lucky Foot Stable Series are #22, Nikki, and #63 Susan Chester.

Reader Interactions


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88 Comments

  20. Just finished an art class for educators and we studied Matisse, I love the idea of these books! Would love to win!!! Thank yoU!!!!

    Reply

  21. I would love to win these for our home library. I have been trying to collect a few art history books for my kids.

    Reply

  25. My girls are a little young (ok way too young) for these but I know some other little girls with upcoming birthdays who would love these books.

    Reply

  33. What a FANTASTIC Giveaway!!!!
    I adore children books plus reading & carefully discussing the illustrations, ideas and story lines is one of my favorite things to do with my 3 year old nephew & 4 year old daughter! (SMILE)….
    The ARTS are so very very important!! These 3 books sound GREAT!!! Finding books that INSPIRE Are GRAND!!!!

    The Inner Child in all moms, dads, and other family members will have such a Wonder Filled time hunting throught each book with that special child!!!
    LOVE to win these!!!!

    Reply

  45. These books may find their way into little hands… but I think the National Gallery ghost hunt sounds fun for me! LOL. I was enthralled with The Da Vinci Code. Thank you for the great giveaway!

    Reply

  53. These look awesome! I bought Brush Mona Lisa’s Hair to expose my kids to famous artwork, and I would love to have more books on this!

    Reply

  55. As an artist myself, and 2 budding artist, I jump at anything I can use to help teach the arts to my children… thanks for offering this!!

    Reply

  76. We’re homeschoolers too, and I’ve got an artist in the making in my 11 year old son. I’d love to win these. Kathy

    Reply

  85. My husband can’t wait to take our girls to D.C. and this would be a great thing to use to get them excited about the trip!

    Reply