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13 Things Children Should Know
13 Artists Children Should Know
This heavily illustrated book featuring the world's greatest painters is an excellent introduction for young readers to artists and their works.
Whether it’s Leonardo da Vinci’s mysterious Mona Lisa, Vermeer’s vibrant depictions of light, Van Gogh’s mesmerizing brush strokes, or Matisse’s playful cutouts, the art featured here is introduced in a format and style that will appeal to children. The book proceeds chronologically, accompanied by a timeline to offer helpful historical context. Each artist’s entry includes a concise biography, beautiful reproductions of major works, and lively texts that speak directly to young readers. Games, quizzes and other activities help readers learn about the significant contributions of each artist in a way that is both fun and inspiring. Additional information about museums, suggestions for further reading, and online resources will satisfy the most curious minds.
Whether it’s Leonardo da Vinci’s mysterious Mona Lisa, Vermeer’s vibrant depictions of light, Van Gogh’s mesmerizing brush strokes, or Matisse’s playful cutouts, the art featured here is introduced in a format and style that will appeal to children. The book proceeds chronologically, accompanied by a timeline to offer helpful historical context. Each artist’s entry includes a concise biography, beautiful reproductions of major works, and lively texts that speak directly to young readers. Games, quizzes and other activities help readers learn about the significant contributions of each artist in a way that is both fun and inspiring. Additional information about museums, suggestions for further reading, and online resources will satisfy the most curious minds.
48 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
January 24, 2016
After a visit to the Gardner Museum with the kids over Christmas break, I decided to grab some books from the library to take their interest in art a step further. This series is excellent. It offers a timeline, a short biography and several works for each author, as well as an explanation of what makes each artist's work unique. There are many prompts for the child to make art in the style of the artist featured with suggestions of how to start that process. Very engaging! Additionally, there are amazing artists that I had not heard of, so it was interesting and educational for me, too.
March 7, 2026
Before I start reading the text I'm exasperated by the selection. Nobody older than DaVinci, and all European except Kahlo and Warhol.
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Further in. I do like that Tips, Timeline, and Further Reading are all included in the body of the book instead of relegated to back matter. I appreciate that there are some tidbits I didn't know, for example that DaVinci was interested in dragons.
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Done. There are different features to appeal to different readers. None particularly appealed to me. GR says two stars means It Was OK, and so there we have it.
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Further in. I do like that Tips, Timeline, and Further Reading are all included in the body of the book instead of relegated to back matter. I appreciate that there are some tidbits I didn't know, for example that DaVinci was interested in dragons.
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Done. There are different features to appeal to different readers. None particularly appealed to me. GR says two stars means It Was OK, and so there we have it.
September 18, 2021
Fabulous introduction to top artists for children, although adults can learn too. Beautiful illustrations combined with an easy and interesting flow of factual information made this eye candy with an educational intent. Well done.
August 16, 2018
I love the timeline that goes with each artist. It shows the artist's life span, key events in the artist's life and in general history, and shows any overlap with other artists featured in the book.
The artists are pretty unevenly spread through history.
We have Leonardo DaVinci, then a big jump to Jan Vermeer, then another jump to Monet, Rousseau, Cassatt, van Gogh, Matisse, Klee, Marc, Picasso, Chagall, Kahlo, and Warhol.
As you can tell, it's pretty weighted on Impressionists and later.
There are several examples of most of the artists' work, although the examples aren't always large.
The biographical information is good and the picture captions are interesting and informative.
The artists are pretty unevenly spread through history.
We have Leonardo DaVinci, then a big jump to Jan Vermeer, then another jump to Monet, Rousseau, Cassatt, van Gogh, Matisse, Klee, Marc, Picasso, Chagall, Kahlo, and Warhol.
As you can tell, it's pretty weighted on Impressionists and later.
There are several examples of most of the artists' work, although the examples aren't always large.
The biographical information is good and the picture captions are interesting and informative.
January 11, 2023
I am not a child. I am a grandfather and I have been studying art and art history on and off for much of my life; yet, I was still able to learn something new from this book. This book is a wonderful introduction to some of the world’s great artists and is suitable for anyone of any age. Even if they are too young to read, they can still enjoy the pictures.
May 19, 2020
Love the survey format, the sidebars, and the timeline that helps place each artist's life in context of world events (and the other artists).
That said, the book only had 2 women artists (Cassatt & Kahlo), and leaned super heavily on white artists. Would really have loved more diversity.
That said, the book only had 2 women artists (Cassatt & Kahlo), and leaned super heavily on white artists. Would really have loved more diversity.
July 9, 2025
Even though this was a book for children, I found it to be quite educational. I learned several different facts and new artists. I also like the historical timeline at the top of the page that may have influenced the artist paintings.
September 9, 2025
A great introduction to these ten famous artists. But why these ten? And why only two women?
You can read my blog post about this book on my website:
https://wendykennar.com/2025/09/03/13...
You can read my blog post about this book on my website:
https://wendykennar.com/2025/09/03/13...
June 19, 2018
An excellent book to teach children about artists, where their art is found and what they achieved with their art. Wonderful!
September 1, 2019
A good book to introduce children to different artists and to help the children to understand the artists styles of work in their paintings and drawings.
October 10, 2020
Cok kisa baktım. Belki sonra yine bakabilirim.
March 10, 2021
Excellent book! I used this as an art history curriculum for our homeschool! We also did copycat art projects based on each artist! It was so fun and this book has just the right amount of information to get those creative juices flowing.
July 1, 2021
The text did not hold our son's (8yo) attention, but most of the art did. I ended up just setting the book, open, on a picture stand & turning the page every couple of weeks.
February 1, 2021
I was looking forward to reading this book again--one artist each day--but had to read it faster as it was due back at the library. It is one I might want to buy. There is lots of great info packed into this book.
January 25, 2021: What a wonderful book--artists that every adult should know, too! I learned so many new things. I am going to start reading it again tomorrow--one artist a day.
January 25, 2021: What a wonderful book--artists that every adult should know, too! I learned so many new things. I am going to start reading it again tomorrow--one artist a day.
February 23, 2017
Another book I got to read at my job and it was really cool! I don't really know much about art but I'm trying to learn more and this book really gives you the basics.
February 27, 2015
Nonfiction/Twin Text Entry #3
This book was another art history selection that I had to choose because it is about newer important artists that have made an impact. However, the most important reason that I chose this book was because it was completely inclusive between men's contributions and women's. Art is notoriously a "man's world" and it has taken far too long for women to get the recognition they deserve. I think it is important to show in a classroom that women have made valuable contributions as well as men. Also this book has a lot of lovely photos of paintings and tells a bit of a story along the way. It tells the stories of the artists and also gives credit to their work.
The fiction I chose to pair with this is actually a wonderful spin on one of Mary Cassatt's, a famous impressionist painter, paintings. In one of Cassatt's paintings there is a girl and a puppy which becomes the premise of the book. It is set in the 1870's during the Impressionism era and other painters are cleverly woven into the story. I think this is such a great spin on mixing fiction with nonfiction characters. I think they pair nicely because they both discuss not as well known painters from different artistic periods. The nonfiction choice discusses impressionist painters which blends nicely with the fiction book.
This book was another art history selection that I had to choose because it is about newer important artists that have made an impact. However, the most important reason that I chose this book was because it was completely inclusive between men's contributions and women's. Art is notoriously a "man's world" and it has taken far too long for women to get the recognition they deserve. I think it is important to show in a classroom that women have made valuable contributions as well as men. Also this book has a lot of lovely photos of paintings and tells a bit of a story along the way. It tells the stories of the artists and also gives credit to their work.
The fiction I chose to pair with this is actually a wonderful spin on one of Mary Cassatt's, a famous impressionist painter, paintings. In one of Cassatt's paintings there is a girl and a puppy which becomes the premise of the book. It is set in the 1870's during the Impressionism era and other painters are cleverly woven into the story. I think this is such a great spin on mixing fiction with nonfiction characters. I think they pair nicely because they both discuss not as well known painters from different artistic periods. The nonfiction choice discusses impressionist painters which blends nicely with the fiction book.
December 6, 2011
This was a wonerful book to introduce children to the great artists; mentioned were Leonardo da Vinci, Jan Vermeer (now I know why it is called Vermeer blue), Monet, Roussaeau, Mary Cassatt, Vinnie (whose paintings are among the most expensive in the world; my favorite, the Sunflower paintings. Also included: Matisse, Paul Klee, loved his techniqie brushstroke by brushstroke, Franz Marc, Pablo Picasso, and Marc Chagall, Frida Kahlo and of course Andy Warhol. The book gave great timelines and a lot of information about the artist and his/her type of art with their most famous ones shown. It asked many good questions and in general was just a great book. I learned a lot from it. Mona Lisa has the highway blues you can tell by the way she smiles but there is just something about the way the girl with the pearl earring looks at you that moves me. Great glossary of art vocabulary included.
November 25, 2014
I enjoyed sharing this book with my daughter. Many of the 13 artists mentioned we had already discussed in school and it was a nice review, while a few were new and fun to be introduced to. A very quick read briefly covering each of the artists with a sprinkling of interesting facts as well. A time line, located at the top of each page, references key events in history and other notable artists during that time period.
November 26, 2011
One of a magnificent series of books aiming to teach children about art and artists. They can teach adults a thing or two as well. Most of these artists were predictable, some I had never heard of before- Rousseau, Klee and Marc. Well worth seeking out.
My blog post
http://astrongbeliefinwicker.blogspot...
My blog post
http://astrongbeliefinwicker.blogspot...
July 15, 2015
A very basic introductory book to educate children on some of the more wellknown artists. The artist's most famous paintings are illustrated as well as biographic information regarding the author. Text may be more for an older reader.
January 9, 2012
I especially liked that while this book was an overview, it gave me suggestions of other books to look at for each artist. And I really liked the variety of artists focused on.
March 1, 2015
These are great books.
October 8, 2013
I was delighted to discover this book. It fits a niche. So many parents and teachers ask for this kind of thing at the public library reference desk.
April 29, 2014
A great brief synopsis of 13 famous artists throughout history. Included just enough info for my 9 year old. A great starting point.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews