This one is my favorite books. Easy, common materials, creative, open-ended, and based on kids trying out the styles and techniques of the great masters from the Renaissance to the Present. I've learned so much! I love the little biographies because they usually tell something about the artist's life as a child. This is for allllllll ages. Including ME (age withheld). ~ Suzy Jarvis
I'm an adult and I can't wait to try these projects. Who says kids are the only ones that get to play and explore with art ideas? The Gaugin project looks bright and mysterious, and the Michelangelo painting on the underside of a table is a must do. So, let's have an art party and invite only people who like to have fun! (Besides, I'm to busy to learn about all these cool artists in big huge wordy adult books, and these great one- paragraph descriptions -- with a portrait sketch -- are perfect for me. Interesting too.) ~ Martha
We are using this excellent book at the basis of our art curriculum this year and next year in our homeschool co-op, involving boys and girls from age 7 to 14. Each week we learn about a different artist and do at least one project. The techniques taught have all been very well done; materials are easily found and the processes realistic for our small budget program, while being of high artistic quality, really helping our children deepen their understanding and art ability. ~ Heidi
We homeschool and have been using this book for first grade art class. My daughter loves it and I am learning at least as much as she is! I figure you can do 1 project a week and that will give you enough for 3 years of art projects! We get library books about the particular artist for the week and I also print a photo of one of the artist's paintings off the internet for her art notebook. We take pictures of her projects and also put them in the notebook. This book hit the mark for us! You won't be sorry if you buy it! ~ Homeschool Mom
I was excited about this book before I even opened it, and having read through it and planned several projects for our homeschooled kindergartner and preschooler, I am even more excited! This book covers pretty much every possible art form and gives great background information on the artists represented, without being so much information that it would be boring to a child. The projects are creative and all of them look like great fun. This is one book that I feel was worth the money (so many craft books end up being an "I could have thought of that on my own" experience!). My only disappointment with this book is that the illustrations are other children's artwork and there are no examples of the artists' actual work. However, I am sure we can find all we need to supplement this book just by looking on the internet. All in all, this was a great buy and I am very excited to use this book with my children for several years to come! I give it five stars. ~ Mom2Two
