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Young at Art: Teaching Toddlers Self-Expression, Problem-Solving Skills, and an Appreciation for Art
From the creator of the bestselling Anti-Coloring Book series with more than 600,000 copies sold, a new parenting guide to encouraging creativity in preschool-age children
Young at Art is the first and only comprehensive book for the general audience about the nature, value and impact of art on very young children. Directed towards parents and educators of one to five year olds, Susan Striker explains why children's art is not a frill, but the very foundation upon which all later fundamental skills are built. She drives home the idea that encouraging children's artistic growth will have beneficial effects on all other aspects of their emotional and intellectual development.
At the core of this practical guide is the understanding that art is an important tool in teaching young children crucial concepts related to self-expression, reading and writing. As opposed to more structured exercises, such as coloring on dittos and underlining pictures in workbooks, Striker stresses that scribbling and free drawing experiments are the most important art activities a child can engage in; they better prepare children to read independently as they grow.
Young at Art provides descriptions for age-appropriate art activities, tips for carrying them out safely, and helps parents recognize what a child's art work should look like at each stage of development. With Young at Art , parents will develop realistic expectations of their children's work, learn how to speak to their children about their art, and facilitate skills well beyond their creativity that will benefit children.
Young at Art is the first and only comprehensive book for the general audience about the nature, value and impact of art on very young children. Directed towards parents and educators of one to five year olds, Susan Striker explains why children's art is not a frill, but the very foundation upon which all later fundamental skills are built. She drives home the idea that encouraging children's artistic growth will have beneficial effects on all other aspects of their emotional and intellectual development.
At the core of this practical guide is the understanding that art is an important tool in teaching young children crucial concepts related to self-expression, reading and writing. As opposed to more structured exercises, such as coloring on dittos and underlining pictures in workbooks, Striker stresses that scribbling and free drawing experiments are the most important art activities a child can engage in; they better prepare children to read independently as they grow.
Young at Art provides descriptions for age-appropriate art activities, tips for carrying them out safely, and helps parents recognize what a child's art work should look like at each stage of development. With Young at Art , parents will develop realistic expectations of their children's work, learn how to speak to their children about their art, and facilitate skills well beyond their creativity that will benefit children.
304 pages, Paperback
First published October 11, 2001
About the author
Susan Striker
61 books8 followersSusan Striker is the author of the best-selling Anti-Coloring Book® series with over one million books in print all over the world. Designed to stimulate creativity and encourage problem solving and critical thinking, the books help children draw their own pictures as well as their own conclusions about life. She also wrote Please Touch® (Simon & Schuster) which teaches parents and educators how to stimulate creativity through movement, music, art and play. Young at Art® (Henry Holt) is a comprehensive text about the value and significance of early childhood art. That book clearly demonstrates the important link between early scribbles and later literacy.
Ms. Striker teaches art in an elementary school in Greenwich, Connecticut, where her school won the National Reading Award. Among the considerations of the judges was her literature based art program. She has a unique style of motivating children to create by integrating art with music and literature. She has had a long, successful career teaching art to young children, has taught art education methodology to university students and developed art curricula. She shares her innovative teaching ideas in workshops for parents and teachers in schools and universities all over the country. Ms. Striker’s work has been the subject of numerous television shows, both local, national and international.
In 1984 Ms. Striker founded Young at Art, a private art school in Manhattan, offering classes to young children. “Its aim”, she explains, “was to spark creativity, generate fantasy and unleash imaginative thinking.” There she held classes for children, ages one through five, and gave birthday parties where art activities were the focus of the day. Her school was not only the talk of the town, but was featured in newspaper and magazine articles as far away as Japan. Her dream is to see her art classes for young children brought to children of all economic backgrounds throughout the world, so she offers several curricula with videos of her teaching your class.
Ms. Striker has a solid reputation as an expert in art education. She acted as a consultant for the popular television show Thomas the Train, has written many magazine articles and contributes regularly to Arts. Susan’s Young at Art curriculum for preschool and kindergarten art was awarded Connecticut's Celebration of Excellence for Creativity in the Classroom.
In 2000 she won the Distinguished Teacher Award in Greenwich. In March, 2004 Teaching K-8, a national magazine written for elementary school teachers featured Ms. Striker as the Author of the Month, in honor of National Youth Art Month. In 2008 - Susan received the highly competitive 2008 Connecticut Art Education Association Award, Outstanding Elementary Art Educator , for significant contributions to the field of art education.
Ms. Striker lives in Easton, Connecticut. She is divorced and has one son, Jason, who lives in Colorado. Her readers know Jason very well, as he appeared in or on the cover of all of the books she wrote after his birth in 1979. Sue collects folk art and is now working on a series of books about folk art for young children.
- excerpted from her website
Ms. Striker teaches art in an elementary school in Greenwich, Connecticut, where her school won the National Reading Award. Among the considerations of the judges was her literature based art program. She has a unique style of motivating children to create by integrating art with music and literature. She has had a long, successful career teaching art to young children, has taught art education methodology to university students and developed art curricula. She shares her innovative teaching ideas in workshops for parents and teachers in schools and universities all over the country. Ms. Striker’s work has been the subject of numerous television shows, both local, national and international.
In 1984 Ms. Striker founded Young at Art, a private art school in Manhattan, offering classes to young children. “Its aim”, she explains, “was to spark creativity, generate fantasy and unleash imaginative thinking.” There she held classes for children, ages one through five, and gave birthday parties where art activities were the focus of the day. Her school was not only the talk of the town, but was featured in newspaper and magazine articles as far away as Japan. Her dream is to see her art classes for young children brought to children of all economic backgrounds throughout the world, so she offers several curricula with videos of her teaching your class.
Ms. Striker has a solid reputation as an expert in art education. She acted as a consultant for the popular television show Thomas the Train, has written many magazine articles and contributes regularly to Arts. Susan’s Young at Art curriculum for preschool and kindergarten art was awarded Connecticut's Celebration of Excellence for Creativity in the Classroom.
In 2000 she won the Distinguished Teacher Award in Greenwich. In March, 2004 Teaching K-8, a national magazine written for elementary school teachers featured Ms. Striker as the Author of the Month, in honor of National Youth Art Month. In 2008 - Susan received the highly competitive 2008 Connecticut Art Education Association Award, Outstanding Elementary Art Educator , for significant contributions to the field of art education.
Ms. Striker lives in Easton, Connecticut. She is divorced and has one son, Jason, who lives in Colorado. Her readers know Jason very well, as he appeared in or on the cover of all of the books she wrote after his birth in 1979. Sue collects folk art and is now working on a series of books about folk art for young children.
- excerpted from her website
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
September 3, 2008
I am going to buy this one when my son is a little older. Lots of great ideas.
May 25, 2010
Okay so she does come off a bit preachy but it seemed to me that she knows what the heck she is talking about. I am absolutely clueless about art and have always labeled myself as "not creative". This booked helped me feel much more prepared to expose my kids to good art experiences. "Don't teach, let them learn". I appreciated the simplicity of her ideas. I don't have to worry about coming up with cutesy ideas. The book was very freeing for me and my kiddo and I soaked it up. I can enjoy watching him go through the natural stages without pushing him or worrying if i'm "doing" enough. I was inspired to go out and finally buy the roll paper, brushes and tempera paint for our easel. I like how she grouped projects by color starting with a simple black crayon, black charcoal and black paint. Caleb has already enjoyed just plain scribbling without being overwhelmed with the box full of markers I used to offer him. He would get distracted taking the lids on and off of each marker, going from one color to the next. The book gives suggestions how to progressively move onto the primary, then secondary colors and then get into color mixing. The other day Caleb was thoroughly engrossed in painting with just red tempera paint with his red cup and his red handled paint brush. Adorable. I'm excited to get some sculpting clay and try some of the suggestions in that chapter. I would have never thought of anything besides play-dough before reading this book.
January 17, 2008
Really interesting ideas concerning artistic learning, particularly as they relate to toddler and preschool aged children.
Extremely progressive, which I like, but its written in a bit of a beat it over your head repetitive fashion.
Nonetheless, good for skimming and gleaning ideas (such as starting kids with one color at a time, and prohibiting coloring books and dittos, and teacher created cut and copy holiday projects).
Extremely progressive, which I like, but its written in a bit of a beat it over your head repetitive fashion.
Nonetheless, good for skimming and gleaning ideas (such as starting kids with one color at a time, and prohibiting coloring books and dittos, and teacher created cut and copy holiday projects).
March 3, 2017
I learned a lot about the practices which I have done so far inappropriately. Parents, you should read this book before introducing your child a full box of crayons or a coloring book
December 12, 2017
Useful, but a bit too preachy.
January 24, 2022
Full of fantastic toddler and preschool art ideas, and info on how to effectively carry out impactful art activities.
January 21, 2016
This book is awesome! As someone who feels "artistically" challenged, this book makes me feel a lot more confident introducing art and art materials to my 14 month old. Yes, my 14 month old! If I hadn't read this book I probably would have waited a LOT longer to introduce art materials to him, but Striker argues that babies as young as 6 months can be introduced to crayons and paints. She gives loose guidelines for what to expect at what ages, which is really helpful for someone who has no idea what to expect.
Above all, she argues that a parents role is to hand the child the materials and then GO AWAY. Okay, not go away, but she argues fervently against "teaching" in anyway; doing so, she argues, can diminish a child's creative spirit. She is adamantly against coloring books or other "clever" art projects for children, arguing that they are too constrictive. Children need access to art materials to explore however they want. Realistic about cleanliness, she offers suggestions to how to contain the chaos as best as possible; however, as a parent, I have found it most freeing to read that "it's really ok if all your baby does is eat the crayon for a while. It's part of the process, really." Because, he does eat the crayons. But then he's also started scribbling, which is so cool.
If you are a parent of a kid under age 4 (or plan to have kids someday) read this book! It's changed how I think about art and children.
Above all, she argues that a parents role is to hand the child the materials and then GO AWAY. Okay, not go away, but she argues fervently against "teaching" in anyway; doing so, she argues, can diminish a child's creative spirit. She is adamantly against coloring books or other "clever" art projects for children, arguing that they are too constrictive. Children need access to art materials to explore however they want. Realistic about cleanliness, she offers suggestions to how to contain the chaos as best as possible; however, as a parent, I have found it most freeing to read that "it's really ok if all your baby does is eat the crayon for a while. It's part of the process, really." Because, he does eat the crayons. But then he's also started scribbling, which is so cool.
If you are a parent of a kid under age 4 (or plan to have kids someday) read this book! It's changed how I think about art and children.
December 14, 2016
Perfect book for a family of non-creatives. Despite "toddler" in the title, it is suitable. from 6mos through 6 or 7 years.
Great booklist and collection of songs to provide a low-pressure holistic learning experience.
If your family already has a studio space for messy art, and you don't feel tempted / pressured by Pinterest and such to have your children create cute and clever crafts, you probably don't need to read this book. The booklist, songs and suggested order of presentations are still worth a review, though.
If, on the other hand, you don't know how to grant chaos within boundaries, or how to enable your child to explore freely without danger to self or house, or don't know much about creating art yourself - this book is for you!
I've rearranged my son's art space already, and am excited to buy some proper quality art supplies.
Knocked one star because the "process not project" message was repeated over and over and over and over... an important message, but there are limits.
Great booklist and collection of songs to provide a low-pressure holistic learning experience.
If your family already has a studio space for messy art, and you don't feel tempted / pressured by Pinterest and such to have your children create cute and clever crafts, you probably don't need to read this book. The booklist, songs and suggested order of presentations are still worth a review, though.
If, on the other hand, you don't know how to grant chaos within boundaries, or how to enable your child to explore freely without danger to self or house, or don't know much about creating art yourself - this book is for you!
I've rearranged my son's art space already, and am excited to buy some proper quality art supplies.
Knocked one star because the "process not project" message was repeated over and over and over and over... an important message, but there are limits.
November 6, 2009
A helpful book explaining in detail the artistic development in infants through early school-age children. This book was helpful for me because it drew many helpful connections between the importance of many art experiences to children literacy learning and writing development. The book is divided into categories according to art medium that young children should be exposed to. These basic mediums include drawing, painting, sculpting (or working with play dough and clay), collage, and print making. The best message from the book - it is not the finished product that is important but simply the act of doing art that should be the focus. Children need to be free to explore and learn by doing without the pressure of trying to "make something" or "create something pretty" for their parents. An important message.
February 2, 2008
I just love Susan Striker. When my niece and nephew were the appropriate age, we got them an "anti-coloring" book from her series. I was so amazed at it when I thumbed through it! It really is an anti-coloring book in that the idea of coloring in a picture already drawn and staying between "the lines" is completely discouraged. My kids, however, were much too young for that series so I looked at other books she had written. This is perfect for the younger age group and has great ideas for how to help your toddler and young child learn and grow through art!
August 7, 2008
While the program the author lays out is rather rigid to the point where I can't imagine implementing it, I did feel very inspired to give my toddler art supplies I never would have thought of giving a child so young. Plus, I found the connection between art and literacy fascinating and it helped me rethink some of the standard art projects I see in children's programming at the library/festivals we attend/etc...
July 27, 2010
This is a great book to learn how to present art materials to kids in a slow, sensible way. I wish I had read it four years ago! The tone is a bit too judgmental for my taste. But I agree with her general philosophy about how to present art to children. That is, as an opportunity to experiment as opposed to a chance to create a "product" that should be attractive or acceptable by adult standards.
March 21, 2010
The author does come off a little preachy and rigid. She is clearly very passionate about what she believes. While I can't see it being practical to follow this completely many of the things she says make a lot of sense and I have been inspired to offer a whole new type of art supplies to my child and to approach her artwork in a new way.
September 30, 2011
I don't agree with most of what Striker says in her book (or at least in the first half, which is as far as I read). The idea that I'm damaging my child by giving her coloring books, by commenting on objects she's "drawn" rather than on the lines/circles she makes, by giving her more than one color to draw with .. is just nuts.
August 14, 2012
i believe this should be on every parent's bookshelf, and read by anyone who works with kids. as with any parenting/child development theory, read it and then form your own opinion. i believe in moderation, but i use susan striker's basic philosophies when it comes to kids and creating any kind of art.
March 12, 2010
I LOVED this book. It was a fascinating look at child development in the context of art. It included the developmental stages of a child's scribbling and drawing; which colors they are ready to experience when, etc. SOOOO fascinating!!!!!! And full of great ideas, too.
May 8, 2009
Very inspiring. I tried a few crafts from here for storytime that really blew parents and kids minds (just draw?!). I have an idea to start a toddler art group later on with this book as an inspiration.
July 28, 2010
This is such an enlightening approach to art!!! We threw out ALL our coloring books, put the art supplies at the girls' disposal and viola! REAL ART! This is one of those books every parent should OWN. I cannot rave enough!
October 9, 2008
A fabulous art book for toddlers and preschoolers. I learned so much about creativity and letting your child explore their artistic nature. Great resource!
July 18, 2015
Using this as a guide to teaching art in my Early Childhood Special Ed/Autism classroom this year.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews