I Spy: An Alphabet in Art
by Lucy Micklethwait
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Book Summary Information
Author: Lucy MicklethwaitEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1996-10-21
ISBN: 0688147305
Number of pages: 64
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Book Reviews of I Spy: An Alphabet in Art
Book Review: Art and alphabet--who knew?
Summary: 5 Stars
Lucy Micklethwait is a thoughtful children's book creator. When her daughter was small, Lucy would sit with her and look at art books. They would talk about each item in the painting. While they may not have discussed the meaning, the first step in developing art appreciation and understanding is art awareness. What better way to teach a child awareness than literally let the child point out items in the painting?
Even though I am now a children's librarian bringing this book to you, in another life time I was a high school teacher. One course I taught was a kind of art appreciation. The first activity I did was post a dozen famous prints across the board, then ask students to pick their favorite and write why and least favorite and say why. Examining a painting without knowing a thing about it is the first step in art awareness.
In "I Spy" there are 26 famous paintings. The one on the cover is "Son of Man" by Rene Magritte (a man). The words on the left page inside the book say: "I spy with my little eye something beginning with Aa." On the right side is the painting.
Here is a sampling of other included paintings: Picasso's "Sitting Woman with a Fish Hat" (let their little imagination roam with this one!), Goya's "Don Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuniga," Matisse's "Interior with Etruscan Vase," Renoir's "Umbrellas," and Hockney's "A Bigger Splash."
What a wonderful way to reinforce the alphabet, introduce the child to masterpieces of art, show cultural and time differences in clothing, style, and customs. Perhaps at some point you could locate a book in the library which has those paintings. Take one at a time to discuss meaning, technique, painter.
Ms Micklethwait has several other books to consider:
Colors: A First Art Book
I Spy Two Eyes: Numbers in Art
Child's Book of Art: Discover Great Paintings, A
Animals: A First Art Book
Summary of I Spy: An Alphabet in Art
"I spy with my little eye something beginning with A..." Even the very youngest art lovers can spy out the apple in Magritte's Son of Man through the zigzags in de Geest's Portrait of a Child. Interact with twenty-six of the world's greatest paintings in this educational, entertaining, and beautiful pairing of a classic game with timeless art.
The perfect art book for small children is one that opens their eyes and makes them want to keep looking. I Spy, surely the most cultured alphabet book around, is just right. Parents can leave it out on a table and let it work its magic silently. Its cover picture--René Magritte's Son of Man, a painting of a man in a Homburg and overcoat who inexplicably has a green apple where his face ought to be--has just the right touch of whimsy to grab a toddler's attention, but older children (up to about age 80) should love it, too. Inside, there are 26 paintings: large, clear, colorful, and one to a page. Across from each plate is an alphabet letter, shown both capitalized and lowercase, and the words, "I spy with my little eye something beginning with..." The Magritte starts off the alphabet (A is for apple, of course), and then Henri Rousseau's Football Players keeps the ball rolling, so to speak. Lucy Micklethwait includes wonderful selections of pictures children can dream about, including an Indian painting, Workmen Building the Palace of Fatehpur Sikri (E for elephant), Goya's incomparable Don Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuniga (M for magpie), and Miró's Woman and Bird in the Moonlight (S for star). Click to see the spread with Marc Chagall's The Bride and Groom of the Eiffel Tower (V for violin). Compilation and text © 1992 by Lucy Micklethwait. Permission by Greenwillow Books. (Preschool and older) --Peggy Moorman
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