10 Kid Books About Art

Are you:

• an art admirer?
• an art creator?
• both?

I have to admit I’m a big art admirer. I will sometimes try creating, but mostly I just admire what others create.

Today’s blog post is about art books. Books that:

• show the work of artists
• give us ideas for how we can make art ourselves
• show us artists’ work and then give us ideas of how we can create our own

I found all of these books through my local library. If there’s a book here that interests you but your library doesn’t carry it, I’ve included the call numbers. That way, you can go to the right library shelf and look at the books your library does carry. You can also ask your librarian to help you find books.

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A is for Art Museum by Katy Friedland and Marla K. Shoemaker [J 700 Fri]

This book presents 26 pieces of art. I like it because it shows such a wide range, from oil paintings to photographs to quilts to sculpture to drawings. A fun thing for me was to look at each picture and try to guess what in the picture represented the letter.

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Art Up Close by Claire d’Harcourt [J 709 Dha]

This book shows 23 paintings from all over the world and from a wide range of time – from 1300 B.C. to 1948. The really neat feature is it’s also a Where’s Waldo kind of book. Details from each picture are shown in the margins and you search for them in the picture.

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Speaking of Art by Bob Raczka [j 700 Spe]

The paintings of 18 artists are shown with quotes from each artist. The Spanish painter, Juan Gris, said, "I always pet a dog with my left hand because if he bit me I’d still have my right hand to paint with.”  Bob Raczka has many books about art and I love every one of them.

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Drawing with Your Hands by Godeleine De Rosamel [J 741.2]

This book makes drawing recognizable animals seem very do-able. And it just makes me smile. It’s part of the series, Drawing is Easy.

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Ed Emberly’s Picture Pie by Ed Emberly [JP741.2]

Ed Emberly has many drawing books, including his Fingerprint Drawing Book. I included this book because it uses only cut-out circles to create pictures from simple to complex. It made me feel like I could do it and made me want to try.

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What’s the Big Idea? by Joyce Raimondo [J 709 Rai]

I was so happy to discover this book. The author shows the work of 6 famous artists and then makes suggestions for how we can create our own art using their work as inspiration. This book is part of the Art Explorers series.

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How Artists Use Shape by Paul Flux [J 701.8 Flu]

This book demonstrates how artists use shapes to create their paintings, drawings and sculptures. It’s part of a series.

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1 2 3 I Can Sculpt by Irene Luxbacher [J 731.4 Lux]

Fun ideas! Each sculpture uses stuff that we might already have in the house (cotton balls, foil) or stuff that wouldn't be too hard to get (clay, pipe cleaners). This book is part of the Starting Art series.

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Sculpture: Three Dimensions in Art by Anne Civardi [J 730 Civ]

I’m a big fan of sculpture. This book shows examples of many kinds of sculpture. If you find this book, look on pages 12-13 to see my favorite sculptor. And look on page 21 to see the sculpture I go visit every time I’m in Minneapolis. This book is part of the Artventure series.

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Lines by Rob Court [J 701.8 Cou]

This book is part of the Young Artist Basics series. It shows ways lines are used to create pictures and effects. Other books in the series cover color, form, light, patterns, shapes, space and texture.

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Do you have books about art that you like? Write them in the Comments!

Gail