Anna's Art Adventure (Picture Books)

Rating:
Summary: Horrifying as any clasic fairy tale
Review: Although you will not find any wicked witches, wolves or cauldrons in this book, the view of a girl child's world presented by the author and illustrator frighten me as much as any Grimm tale that I have left to mildew in the garage.
As the book starts, Anna is invited to share the day with her uncle at his job- in the art museum. The first thing that man does is to annihilate her, he does not welcome her to share his day, he allows her to witness it, as if through a one way mirror. She is admonished from the start to be virtually invisible. When invisible Anna's bladder threatens to leave a visible puddle on the floor, her pleas for help are unheard. Wetting yourself and being unheard, could well be the two most frightening daily traumas a child must face.
Once this terror of a backdrop ruse is hung, we are led on a frantic tour of a male dominated euro-centric art history, as if over saturated Anna, or any person worried on her behalf is going to manage to absorb one ounce of art history. While readers are sitting with their legs and fingers crossed, sympathetic mothers might begin hoping that Anna will encounter a woman who would surely pay attention and help her- but our hopes sink lower and lower as each turn of the page reveals yet another self centered masculine artist.
I am both a mother and an artist, and I would like to see this book re-written to include women artists, and non- europeans shoulder to shoulder with the men, and I would like to see Anna's needs respected and met. The illustrations are indeed lovely, but sadly the story line is too tragic to ignore.

Rating:
Summary: Anna's Art Adventure
Review: Anna is in an art museum and needs to go to the bathroom. While she looks, she ends up meeting famous artists. I learned how you can get lost in painting and how to paint different ways. My mom wishes that women artists had been included. Excellent book, with color illustrations and will be of interest to 2nd through the 4th graders. Recommended reading for teachers and parents, also.

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite books
Review: It's a pretty good book because it shows lots of artists and what they painted. You can see the paintings and they are really good looking. Some are splatters; some are good paintings. And you can see what the artists did. Some of the artists were painting still lifes; some were painting splatters. They look as though the real artists painted them.

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite books
Review: It's a pretty good book because it shows lots of artists and what they painted. You can see the paintings and they are really good looking. Some are splatters; some are good paintings. And you can see what the artists did. Some of the artists were painting still lifes; some were painting splatters. They look as though the real artists painted them.

Rating:
Summary: Great, fun introduction to art.
Review: Not only are the illustrations in this book fantastic, but the tale itself, as it incorporates a variety of artists, provides a fun, accessible entrance into the world of art that will help children feel comfortable with and begin to enjoy visual art. The fact that each page does not provide detailed information about the works and the artists does not detract from the quality of the book because it, in fact, provides a great opportunity for the adult reading with the child to discuss the art and the artists. This is a great book and comes highly reccomended.