5 Picture Books That Introduce Kids to Great Artists

Uncle Andy’s: A Faabbbulous Visit with Andy Warhol and Uncle Andy’s Cats, by James Warhola
Perhaps to find out what a famous artist is really like, you have to ask a kid in his family. James Warhola’s charming books describe how he grew up in a family of seven children with a beloved father who worked as a junk man. Occasionally they’d journey to visit Uncle Andy, “a famous artist uncle in New York City.” The large family loads into a station wagon and arrives at Andy Warhol’s house, surprising the artist, who always looks surprised with his shock of white hair. “Dad always thought it was best not to phone ahead so that it would be a surprise,” Warhola writes. You’ll get an irresistible, inside look at Andy Warhol’s life through this book and through Uncle Andy’s Cats, about Warhol’s 25 cats, “all named Sam.” Young James wakes up “surrounded by towers of soup boxes” and explores his uncle’s collection of wigs, including “messy wake up wigs.” This book is delightfully judgment-free about the abundance of junk—ahem, art—crammed in Warhol’s house, and shows young James becoming inspired to be an artist too.

Edward Hopper Paints His World, by Robert Burleigh and Wendell Minor
Robert Burleigh tells the story of how Edward Hopper grew up from a little boy nicknamed Grasshopper with the words “Would Be Artist” scrawled on his pencil box into a modern master painter. Hopper struggled at first, taking jobs as an illustrator and finding his paintings met with indifference, but eventually the critics caught on to his depictions of modern life. Wendell Minor’s paintings show the vistas Hopper saw that inspired his famous works, and both the text and images capture what it felt like to be Hopper, who is famous for his evocation of moods through his paintings, especially loneliness. This book will appeal to any dreamy kid.

My Hands Sing the Blues: Romare Bearden’s Childhood Journey, by Jeanne Walker Harvey and Elizabeth Zunon
Romare Bearden was an artist renowned for his depictions of African-American life through collage, oil paint, and other mediums. In My Hands Sing the Blues, Jeanne Walker Harvery traces Bearden’s journey from his childhood in North Carolina where his great grandmother told him stories of her Cherokee heritage, to his adulthood in New York City, where he becomes an artist. “My hands sing the blues when I cut and paste. I never know what I’ll create when I cut and paste,” Walker Harvery writes. “I use paper, fabrics, photos and nothing goes to waste.” Elizabeth Zunon’s exuberant and colorful illustrations pay homage to Bearden’s collage technique.

Roy’s House by Susan Goldman Rubin and Roy Lichtenstein
The bright primary colors, clean geometric patterns, and comic-book-like qualities of Roy Lichtenstein’s pop art have clear kid appeal. Susan Goldman Rubin has assembled details from Lichtenstein’s paintings to tell a story about visiting his house. It begins with the ringing of a bright yellow telephone and proceeds through a tour of his living room, kitchen, and goldfish bowl. The type face is Lichtenstein’s classic comic-strip print and the colors will inject energy into any story time.

Through Georgia’s Eyes by Rachel Victoria Rodriguez and Julie Paschkis
This book shows young Georgia O’Keefe growing up in Wisconsin and yearning to become an artist, despite the fact that “in 1899 only boys became artists.” Georgia paints and paints in the hope of achieving her dream…and we all know how that turned out! Rodriguez follows her through her sojourn in New York City to when she at last arrives in her spiritual and artistic homeland, New Mexico, and shows how O’Keefe expressed her unique perceptions of the natural world through her painting.
What picture books introduce kids to your favorite artists?