Frida Kahlo: The Artist in the Blue House

by Magdalena Holzhey

This fascinating look into the world of the artist Frida Kahlo introduces children to the themes that infused Kahlo’s vibrant paintings, while demonstrating how her life influenced her art. Parrots, trees, deer, family members, friends, flowers, the sun and the moon—Frida Kahlo’s use of symbolism and color wonderfully lends itself to teaching children about the artistic process. Through illustrations of her work and photographs of
Kahlo and her family, children are encouraged to learn about her
life, artworks, and important relationships. An engaging text and
gorgeous reproductions call attention to Kahlo’s use of bold color
and natural imagery, as well as her ingenious use of perspective,
collage, and varying styles. Children will learn much about creative
self-expression through this beautifully designed and insightful
book about Kahlo’s life and work.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Biography

30 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2003

About the author

Magdalena Holzhey is an art historian and curator at the Kunstmuseen Krefeld in Germany.

Holzhey studied art history, Italian, and musicology in Berlin and Pisa. She held various academic and curatorial positions in galleries and museums, including the K20 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf, before becoming Curator of Collections of the Kunstmuseen Krefeld. She has published widely on classical modernism and contemporary art.

Reviews

[Mrs. Ruigrok · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book that shows the life of Frida Kahlo as well as her paintings. There are both photographs and her paintings and excellent information to share what inspired her and what her life was like. An excellent book!

[Beth Voecks · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I loved most about this book is how the author asked questions of the reader to get them really thinking about the art in front of them. Frida's work holds mysteries that are so fun for the viewer to unravel!

[Catherine Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great picture book for children that both informs you about Frida Kahlo and her life, as well as analysing and explaining her art.

[Lydia Granda · Rating 5 out of 5]

concise, simple to read and full.of information.

[(NS) Laura Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a biography of the life of Frida Kahlo. This book describes the real life of this famous female artist, and describes many of her life experiences as well as her artistic accomplishments. Frida Kahlo was a woman that lived in Mexico. When she was eighteen years old, she was in a horrible accident that caused her to spend several months in bed. Because of the extended time lying in bed, Frida began painting because she was so bored. Shortly after Friday recovered, she met Diego Rivera because she wanted to show him her paintings. Diego Rivera was a famous artist, and Frida and Diego fell in love and got married. Diego and Frida moved to the United States for three years, but soon moved back to Mexico because Frida was so homesick. Throughout her life, Frida created many impressive paintings. Many of her paintings incorporated life and art together through her use of symbolism. She used bold colors, perspective, collage, and various styles of art in her paintings.
Young students could learn a lot about both art and Frida Kahlo by reading this book. Students would be able to gain much information about different forms of artistic expression. This book does a nice job of introducing the reader to Frida Kahlo and including many important life events about her. I enjoyed reading this book because of the nice combination of Frida’s life experiences as well as incorporating many of her famous paintings. The pictures include both photographs of Frida and her family, as well as paintings completed by her.
This book would be appropriate for grades 2-4.

[Justin Ehrecke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as the other Adventures in Art books but still interesting and super easy to read.