Customer Reviews

Baby Einstein: The ABC's of Art

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is another wonderful book from the Baby Einstein collection, and it stars the lovable character of Vincent Van Goat (complete with bandaged ear!). Each page of this book offers a famous work of art, which in turn provides an illustration for the featured letter of the alphabet. The included questions stimulate the child's imagination and encourage creative thinking while also developing art appreciation skills. This may make the book sound too advanced for little ones, but it is clearly appropriate for a wide age range, from toddlers up to school aged children. Plus, as with all Baby Eistein books, there are thoughtful tips for parents on how best to use the book with their children. A wonderful way to enhance your child's intellectional and emotional development!

The next best thing to taking your kid to a museum...a truly novel idea for a book. We've only had this book for a couple of days but already we have gotten more enjoyment from it than most of the other books in our library. It's a nice change from traditional story books.

Makes art reallly fun for little kids! I use this book with my two year old and also with my five year old in different ways. It's a great way to get kids to talk about art and the selections are fantastic! Julie Clark has done it again!

For every two pages there is a work of art on the right page, and a letter in lower case and upper case form on the left. The leftmost page also include a word appropriate to the work of art, a sentence, and a question for further investigation. The words are age appropriate, like rainbow, cows. peacock, girl, and balloon. Works of art include red balloon / BALLOON Rouge by Paul Klee; Young Boy with DOG by Picasso; Reading (GIRLS) by Renoir; Intitled (ICE CREAM CONE) by Warhol; Untitled (KITE) by Warhol; OCTOPUS by Calder; Pileated WOODPECKER by John J. Audobon; and Study for Homage to the Sqaure; Departing in YELLOW by Josef Albers. Questions for investigation include, Can you think of three things in YELLOW?; What song is he playing on his VIOLIN?; Judging from the expression on the woman's face in the painting, what is the QUEEN feeling?; and What four colors do you see in this paintin of an OCTOPUS?

I love the idea for this book---a ABC book with real artwork to illustrate the letters---featuring many different styles of paintings. The art is for the most part well chosen and interesting---some is abstract, some realistic, some detailed, some simple. My daughter loved the picture illustrating violin, showing a man playing a violin for a little girl outside in a rustic area. We looked at that picture for a LONG time for a 2 year old!

However, the left sides of the page, with the Einstein character and the qustions, annoyed me. The Einstein goat or whatever he is looks so garish and silly compared to the art, and I think it's only a distraction. The questions seem determined to squeeze the joy out of the art---they mostly ask things like how many snakes you can see, or other concrete ideas, instead of just being conversation starters. I like the few times they ask something like how the queen must be feeling in a picture, instead of making sure that all the possible "educational" value is gotten from the artwork. I think some parents will feel compelled to question their kids with the provided questions, instead of just enjoying the artwork together. However, that's a quibble that doesn't ruin my enjoyment of this book. I do recommend it!

An excellent book! Not only does it expose little ones to art classics, but it also opens up a dialogue between the reader and the listener and all the while, honing their basic skills. What more could you ask for??!! For example, the book shows Picasso's "Young Boy with Dog" On the opposite page: "Dd, dog, D is for Dog. What color does the artist use most in the painting? What do you imagine the person and the dog are looking at?" It works on shapes, counting, spelling, colors, imagination AND art history! I knew the Baby Einstein DVDs were great and this book is no exception. Definitely recommended!

Great photos and educational questions to guide you in a discussion of art at any level with toddlers. I saw this same book at National Gallery of Art for more money. Glad I waited and bought it here

I think this book is a great introduction to art for a small child. The pictures are clear and interesting and the questions on the opposing page are stimulating.

This book is not readily available in stores so I was happy to see it online. It was a gift for a one year old whose birthday theme was Baby Einstein! The book came in good condition as well.

What an extraordinary way to combine alphabet with artwork! The book teaches A to Z and pairs each letter with a painting. For example, C is for cows and painting by Vincent van Gogh - Cows. Another example, T is for trees and painting by Gustav Klimt - Beech Trees. I'm glad that I bought this book for my son. Another wonderful addition to his library.