Pictures That Tell Stories: Art for Children (Prestel Publishing)

Introducing children to art has shown to have many benefits for them. Making art teaches them motor skills. It also helps with language development, because children can point out shapes and colors. There are also the added benefits of creativity, cultural awareness, and visual learning. That is why, if possible, it is a great idea to take your children to museums. It might be overwhelming the first time or so, as kids and calmly observing don't go hand-in-hand, but it can also be very rewarding. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to go to a museum, so thankfully there are many rewarding resources that can accomplish the same thing. One of my favorite ones is the books that Prestel Publishing produces. Known for making books on art, architecture, design, and photography, Prestel Publishing has produced a series of children's books that make famous paintings more inviting and accessible for the younger ones. Three of those books are Where is the Frog?, The Great Wave, and A Bird in the Winter.

Each book is a glorious hardcover measuring approximately 10" x 13" with the focus of a singular painting from a great artist. The three great works from the three above books are Claude Monet's The Water Lily Pond, Katsushika Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa, and Pieter Bruegel's The Hunters in the Snow. Each book is narrative in nature, but focuses on telling a story from the painting itself. In Where is the Frog?, a little frog named Antoinette has heard that a famous artist (Monet) doesn't paint animals, so she is doing her best to end up in one of his paintings. The Great Wave tells the story of a newborn baby found in a boat, who even after seven years has not grown a bit. There are mythical and mysterious fish who might hold the answer to this enigma. A Bird in the Winter turns the painting on its head and instead of being about the hunters is instead about an injured bird that a little girl discovers. At the end of each book, we see a beautiful representation of the painting as well as some biographical information on the painter and what they painted. These are excellent books and I would highly recommend any and all of them!

The books were provided to me by Prestel Publishing for honest reviews.

The Mystery of Art (Ancient Faith Publishing)

A quick Google search of Jonathan Jackson pulls up a list of acting and musical credentials. He was Lucky Spencer on General Hospital, a role that landed him five Emmy Awards. He was the title role, Jesse Tuck, in the book-turned-movie Tuck Everlasting. I admit to not knowing him for either of these roles. I actually know him as Ricky Ferris, aka the guy who almost prevented Cory Matthews and Topanga Lawrence on Boy Meets World. Just think, if Ricky and Topanga had ended up together our TVs would have never been graced with Girl Meets World. In all seriousness though, Jonathan Jackson is more than an actor or a musician, he is a Christian (and a convert to Orthodox Christianity), and to his immense credit has never shied away from it like other Hollywood celebrities have. Today, I am reviewing his book, The Mystery of Art: Becoming an Artist in the Image of God.

Jackson begins his book by explaining that the highest form of art is prayer. He quickly clarifies that one does not need to be a Christian to be an artist or vice versa. He does, however, ponder whether one can reach the pinnacle of either (Christianity or art) without being both a Christian and an artist. He then defines the purpose of this book, which is "to open a dialogue between the Christian soul and the mystery of art." Lastly, in the introductory material, we learn a brief bit about his journey to Orthodoxy, the Christian East. He explains his clash with Christian Fundamentalism and their view of art as unnecessary at best and sinful at worst. Unfortunately, he paints the West with a broad-stroked brush with the lines, "The original vision of Christianity was maintained in the East and faithfully passed on from generation to generation. There were no crusades or inquisitions, no papal demands for supremacy, no systematic theology or Reformation." This is a broad statement that is not entirely true. It is also a hurtful and unnecessary shot to take at Roman Catholicism.

Jackson then devotes the rest of the book to explaining what art is and what it is not. For example, art is prayer, beauty, mystery, and sacrament. Each chapter is written in a very personal style with references from Jackson's own life and career. The book also has the feel of a lecture/talk that was given and transcribed (not that is a bad thing). I imagine this would make a fascinating audiobook, especially if Mr. Jackson was the one reading it. In between some chapters is what I call "bonus material." This bonus material are poems that Mr. Jackson has written. Anyone who says that actors lack a brain just need to read this poetry to see that couldn't be further from the truth. The account of St. Genesius of Rome was the perfect way to end this book. So whether you are an artist or a Christian, or just one looking to understand how the two converge, I recommend this book.

This book was provided to me for free by Ancient Faith Publishing in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes. For great Lenten reading, check out their wonderful selection of Lenten books here.

The Little Hippo and One Night, Far From Here

The Little Hippo is a children's book published by Prestel. When you think of Prestel, you don't normally think of kids books, but instead art or photography books. The illustrator of this book, Anja Klauss, based her illustrations on the ancient style of Egyptian art. This story, written by Geraldine Elschner, begins by telling about a time in Egypt when blue hippos populated the Nile River. The youngest one, called Little Hippo, became friends with a man named Antef. As quickly as we learn of their friendship, we learn that Antef has died and is placed inside a pyramid. Little Hippo decided to lay down beside him and slept for centuries. Eventually he was woken up by archaeologists. Little Hippo discovered that instead of growing, he had shrunk. Using his size, he escapes and embarks on a journey to find his family and friends. The rest of the book tells of his epic journey, which you'll have to read to see how it ends.

The colors on the page are bold and vibrant. They go from a beautiful blue, like the hippo on the cover, to a vibrant red that seems to set the page on fire. The hieroglyphics and Egyptian-style art make the whole book a work of art. The story is also cute, but subtly educational. Your children won't realize they are learning about ancient Egyptian culture, archaeology, artifacts, and art. If all Prestel kids books are this high of quality, then I plan on getting a few more and using them with my son as gentle introduction of art and other cultures. Five stars!

One Night, Far From Here is a 14" x 10.5" inch picture book that takes your children through various ecosystems at night. They move from an African Savannah to a Russian Taiga to the Amazon Rainforest to the ocean and finally end up in a North American Forest with a girl reading the very same book. Along the way, the words of the story points out various wildlife, native to these ecosystems. There are spider monkeys, giant squids, snow owls, and wild boars. What makes the book unique is the layout. Each region begins with two acetate (plastic) pages. The first page is mostly dark and reveals tiny creatures like birds and insects. The second acetate page illuminates more over the scene, showing both flora and fauna. Turning this page takes you to the paper page which brings the whole scene in view. At the end of the book is two-page spread, which labels all the animals you and your child could have potentially seen. This encourages you to recall the pages and go back and look through the book again (not that you need motivation to visit this book more than once). This is a book you and your child will visit time and time again, not for the words of the story but just the beautiful book. If you have a child who loves books (whether they can read yet or not), you will want to get them this treat for the eyes.

These books were provided to me for free by Prestel and Flying Eye Books in exchange for honest reviews. If you found these reviews helpful, please click here and/or here and hit Yes!