Which are the best art books for children?

http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/oct/06/the-best-art-books-for-children

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I want to introduce my secondary school pupils to some of the great artists and also to inspire them to feel more relaxed and confident about making art themselves. Are books a useful way of bringing art and how it is made alive?

Picture books, which are generally thought to be only of use to those who haven’t yet learnt to read, are the best way to learn about art just because they are the embodiment of it!

Children who from the very earliest age are familiar with books such as Eric Carle’s Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? a boldly simple and repetitious introduction of familiar animals in unlikely colours or Leo Lionni’s A Colour of his Own, a mesmerising story of a chameleon and the colours he absorbs as he moves around, have already begun to learn how to look at colours and see how clever use of them can change what we expect to see.

An introduction to the use of line can also be found in picture books such as Allan Ahlberg and Bruce Ingman’s The Pencil, a wonderfully imaginative and funny story about a pencil out on the loose and the trouble and triumph it can cause and also in Crockett Johnson’s younger and more freely expressive Harold and the Purple Crayon in which a young child goes wild with a crayon along the walls.

In Anthony Browne’s Bear Hunt, the little bear saves himself with his pencil as he draws his way out of trouble. In addition to demonstrating the power of the pencil so vividly, in Bear Hunt and many of his other titles such as A Walk in the Park and The Tunnel, Browne includes references to the works or styles of famous artists and readers of all ages enjoy spotting the most familiar such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa when it appears.

With a background in picture books such as these and given the freedom to “take a line for a walk” as the illustrators do, confidence in creating your own pictures has the best chance to get well-established.

For ideas about how to develop skills The Usborne Book of Art Ideas is a useful and thorough activity book which introduces ideas for creating art in many different ways. Painting, drawing and print making are all included with simple step-by-step practical guidance on how to create your own work. Tips about how to use different art materials are also valuable and helpful in encouraging creativity.

For a more sophisticated introduction to making all kinds of art Angela Wenzel’s 13 Art Techniques Children Should Know, despite sounding rather severe, gives easy to follow but technical advice about how to create water-colours, gouache, collage and more while also giving an historical introduction to how man has created art from cave paintings onwards.

Learning about the lives of artists is an easy, story-based way of helping pupils develop an interest in how certain styles or pictures have been created. Laurence Anholt’s Camille and the Sunflowers is one of a richly illustrated series of books about the lives of the most famous painters which captures what influenced and inspired them and reproduces some of their best-loved paintings. Here, a young girl meets Claude Monet in his famous garden at Giverny which provides a beautiful introduction to his famous paintings.

For a wider and most academic introduction to art and artists, The Art Book for Children is a valuable guide to thirty of the most famous artists encompassing Rembrandt and Turner as well as Andy Warhol and Cindy Sherman. The opportunity to pay close attention to famous works of art and to consider why artists painted them makes each individually feel accessible while also giving an introduction to the history of painting over several centuries.

And don’t miss Marion Deuchars joyous and inspiring Draw Paint Print like The Great Artists. The book explores the techniques of the world’s most famous artists and will help children develop their own styles – check out our gallery The Guardian Big Draw Project for a delicious flavour of the book. Do enter our Big Draw art competition too! More info on The Big Draw here.

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