About the Holiday

Discovering new books about a favorite subject or one that presents a topic in a new and interactive way is one of the joys of reading. Today and tomorrow, I am featuring two new books that engage kids in the study of art in interactive and exciting ways. Getting to see the world in unique and creative ways is one of the purposes of art, and these books get readers thinking about the whys and hows of some of the world’s influential artists.

Art this Way

By Tamara Shopsin and Jason Fulford

As children—who are naturally creative—know, art is not static but interactive and thought-producing. In Art This Way, author-artists Tamara Shopsin and Jason Fulford invite readers to “see like artists” by introducing them to twelve works of art in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art. The eye-catching cover with a cut-out window that frames Carmen Herrera’s Black and White screen print—a black-and-white-striped optical illusion—that, as children discover when they open the cover, looks the same upside down.

Copyright Tamara Shopsin and Jason Fulford, 2019. Courtesy of Phaidon.

One photograph of Marisol’s sculpture Women and Dog—in which “each of the women is a self-portrait of the artist—can’t fully represent this piece, so readers are presented with three. These fold-out images allow children to “walk around” the sculpture to see the intriguing (and humorous) back and get an up-close view of one of the women’s head, which appears to be looking in all directions.

Copyright Tamara Shopsin and Jason Fulford, 2019. Courtesy of Phaidon.

Five screen prints from Andy Warhol’s portfolio Flowers demonstrate the impact of identical images of flowers rendered in different colors. Folding out the pages puts these paintings side-by-side so that kids can choose their favorite or discuss the differences. Sometimes art isn’t at eye level, but below our feet or above our heads. Two doors—one that opens down and one that opens up—reveal two such examples. A photograph by Helen Levitt of children creating chalk drawings on a sidewalk and a whimsical mobile by Alexander Calder will captivate readers.

Copyright Tamara Shopsin and Jason Fulford, 2019. Courtesy of Phaidon.

Lovers of comics and graphic novels will be drawn to the close-up and far-away views of an explosion by Roy Lichtenstein, which is composed of solid-color blasts and rays amidst clouds of red and blue dots. Cindy Sherman showed the personal side of art with photographs of “herself pretending to be different characters.” Kids get to try out their own artistic side with the mirror that beckons them to “look in” and try on the round glasses for size. Finally, one of the wrapped objects that have made Christo well-known around the world awaits readers, enticing them to guess what might be inside.

Copyright Tamara Shopsin and Jason Fulford, 2019. Courtesy of Phaidon.

Each of the works of art presented here have been well-chosen by Tamar Shopsin and Jason Fulford to encourage young readers to discover art not only in museums but all around them and to explore their own creativity. Each page invites readers to talk about the piece and to try their hand at using it to inspire a piece of their own.

A wonderful and fun way to introduce youngest readers to the joys of creativity, Art This Way makes a unique addition to home, classroom, and public library board book collections.

Ages 2 – 4

Phaidon, 2019 | ISBN 978-071487721

To find a portfolio of work by Tamara Shopsin and in collaboration with her husband Jason Fulford, visit her website.

Celebrating New Book Month with Art Activity

Make Art from Found Objects

Each person finds inspiration in different things, places, and people. Today, try to create something new from the materials around you. Boxes, bottles, wire, magazines, cloth, wood, sponges—almost anything—can be transformed with some imagination. With those old socks, corks, flower pots, candle stubs, bits of ribbon, clementine crate, paint, glitter, beads, and more, you can make something useful, a decoration for your room, or even a gift for a friend!

You can find Art This Way at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound

Picture Book Review