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.
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