WHEN ART WAS LIFE!

Charlotte is a young American girl living in France with her mother and father, who is an impressionist artist. They live right next door to Monsieur Monet, run into Monsieur Gaugin while vacationing by the sea, and travel to New York where her father is comissioned to be a featured artist in a fancy gallery there. The story unfolds through Charlotte's journal, as she details the many exciting things that happen in France and New York, and what it's like to be alive in the 1890s. It even includes a recipe and quite a few paintings, post cards and other artistic tokens. A good story for 3rd-5th grades.

SEE THE RHYTHM OF A PEOPLE

Spirituals, ragtime, blues. Jazz roots, soul expressions, gospel prayers. A wide history of music brought from Africa to the United States makes up an entire culture of life and music. Poetry intertwines with visual art to create the most vibrant, lyrical portrayal of African American music history. Literally without missing a beat, the poems rhythmic flow sound like music in your head, while at the same time describe the different musical genres that are rooted in this diverse history. i see the rhythm, written by Toyomi Igus includes vivid, colorful paintings by Michelle Wood illustrating the text. Reading this book means more than looking at words on a page - it means experiencing history, hearing the paintings, and seeing the music. For grades 4 and up.

ARTFUL READING

Now here is a very fun book to not only read but also get to see some pretty cool paintings by world famous artists. The subject in all of the paintings is reading, therefore the title ARTFUL READING by BOB RACZKA. The book is very thin and there is not much to read. However, the paintings are really beautiful and it is actually cool to see reading being portrayed as a cool pass time in them. At the end of the book, there is a brief history of each artist's life.

For grades first and older.

EVERYTHING YOU LOOK AT HAS ART

Chances are that you have seen the now famous paintings of Campbell's soup cans. But when Mr. Warhol had decided to paint them no one thought that it was a good idea except for him. Andy Warhol said "everything you look at has art" therefore he made art out of ordinary things in life. He experimented with a lot of different materials and techniques and made people see ordinary things in life with a whole new perspective. ANDY WARHOL: POP ART PAINTER by SUSAN GOLDMAN RUBIN will either inspire you to start making art or to start appreciating the ordinary things in life more.

For grades fifth and up.