What do you think?
Rate this book
Are You an Art Sleuth?: Look, Discover, Learn!
From Monet to Renoir and from Boston to Paris, kids search famous paintings to complete a checklist of things to find in each. Are You an Art Sleuth? You probably are. Each of the twenty full-page paintings, drawn from museums around the world, are fun, lively, and full of small details, that can be spotted, counted and checked off a list of things to find. Invite children to see what they can discover when they look at art very closely. Following each close-up is an accompanying spread full of fun facts and activities related to the painting and the story it tells. Prepared by a member of the education staff of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the facts and historical bits are specially selected and written to engage young children and encourage them to come in closer and have fun looking at art. Some of the artists included in the book are Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Georges Seurat, Fra Angelico, Vittore Carpaccio, William Hogarth, Quentin Metsys, Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, William Holman Hunt, Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Breughel, and Henri Rousseau.
- GenresArtChildrensNonfiction
104 pages, Hardcover
Published July 1, 2016
2 people are currently reading
270 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 13, 2017
Reviewed for School Library Journal:
K-Gr 3—Children are invited to take a closer look at art in this seek-and-find book of museum masterpieces. Opposite each full-color reproduction is a list of things to look for in the painting, such as a trumpet or three dogs. (Answers appear in the back of the book.) Subsequent pages give more information about the artist and the time and place depicted, along with ideas for extension activities: "Draw a portrait of your family outside." The chosen works depict busy scenes with lots of figures and background details, lending themselves to a "Where's Waldo" experience of fine art. By making the book interactive, the author helps children notice even the smallest nuances in a painting—this kind of contemplation is a welcome addition for this age group. The art comes from 20 museums and consists of European paintings by artists such as Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Hieronymus Bosch, Claude Monet, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Artists represented are limited to Western males. However, the paintings included are indisputably significant works of art. The sturdy binding and rounded corners on thick cardboard covers will help this volume withstand library use. VERDICT A worthwhile addition to collections of art history and art appreciation for elementary school children.—Suzanne LaPierre, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
K-Gr 3—Children are invited to take a closer look at art in this seek-and-find book of museum masterpieces. Opposite each full-color reproduction is a list of things to look for in the painting, such as a trumpet or three dogs. (Answers appear in the back of the book.) Subsequent pages give more information about the artist and the time and place depicted, along with ideas for extension activities: "Draw a portrait of your family outside." The chosen works depict busy scenes with lots of figures and background details, lending themselves to a "Where's Waldo" experience of fine art. By making the book interactive, the author helps children notice even the smallest nuances in a painting—this kind of contemplation is a welcome addition for this age group. The art comes from 20 museums and consists of European paintings by artists such as Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Hieronymus Bosch, Claude Monet, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Artists represented are limited to Western males. However, the paintings included are indisputably significant works of art. The sturdy binding and rounded corners on thick cardboard covers will help this volume withstand library use. VERDICT A worthwhile addition to collections of art history and art appreciation for elementary school children.—Suzanne LaPierre, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
April 8, 2022
‘Are You an Art Sleuth?’ introduces children to what you might call 'classical' art but turns each one into a puzzle. So, for example, you have a picture with lots of people in it and you have to find 11 hands, 8 hats, 2 gloves and so on. I’m not a young fellow and I didn’t find it easy. So I trust kids will enjoy the challenge. But what I like is that this activity means they are looking closely at the work of artists like Renoir, Seurat, Manet and many more including a few I had not heard of before. So, I'm learning from it too. After the puzzle it discusses the painting and includes tips about how a young artist can learn how to incorporate some techniques in their own work.
To get even more out of this book, I suggest that readers go online to Wikipedia and look up each artist. They will find reproductions of many more of their works.
To get even more out of this book, I suggest that readers go online to Wikipedia and look up each artist. They will find reproductions of many more of their works.
February 26, 2020
I was interested in this one because the premise of fine art as I-Spy book had not occurred to me before, however. Are You an Art Sleuth? chooses paintings from a very limited period in the European tradition of painting none of which include any people with brown skin or non-European dress. I am not an art historian, but I know enough art history to know that even within that limited tradition, there exist paintings with brown people in them.
The book does however, include the painting The Peasants' Wedding by Peter Brueghel in which some dancers in the foreground are uh visibly aroused.
So it's a "no thanks" from me to the all-white art book that is likely to prompt anatomical questions from it's target age-group.
The book does however, include the painting The Peasants' Wedding by Peter Brueghel in which some dancers in the foreground are uh visibly aroused.
So it's a "no thanks" from me to the all-white art book that is likely to prompt anatomical questions from it's target age-group.
November 19, 2018
Fun way to learn about famous paintings. Great for a variety of ages.
July 14, 2016
This book came to me from a GoodReads giveaway and I was so excited to get it in the mail yesterday. I'm a graphic designer and studied art history in college and my 6 year old doesn't really like art very much at all. With this book he sat down with me for 30 minutes looking at art. It made it into a game and he loves to do games.
September 28, 2016
This was a wonderful introduction to art for children (and adults, too!). The author chose lovely pieces of art to explain and I really enjoyed the "sleuthing" concept to get you to really look at each painting. Two thumbs up from me!
August 22, 2016
"Are you and Art sleuth?" is non-fiction games and education for children and adults. It proves fine art can fun and fulfill many curiosities. It is an oversized board book with brilliant detail.
November 2, 2016
Fantastic introduction to the art world for children - and me! I loved it and learned so much :-)
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews