The Cave Painter of Lascaux [Hardcover]

Roberta Angeletti (Author)

Book Description

Anna is on a school trip to the Lascaux cave in the south of France - a mysterious place with prehistoric paintings believed to have been created over 17,000 years ago. Anna gets separated from the class and bumps into a real caveman, one of the artists who painted the pictures. He explains to Anna what life was really like in the Stone Age and how they created the magnificent drawings on the wall.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3-This series entry repeats the flaws and strengths of its predecessors. The story is slight and secondary to the purpose-in this case, introducing readers to Paleolithic cave paintings in France. A child wanders away from her classmates and meets up with a tour guide dressed as a cave man. He is as surprised as she is when an actual Homo sapiens appears and corrects some of the guide's points. The information presented in the narrative is minimal-this field trip is no "Magic School Bus" ride. The cave art, however, is a respectable imitation of the real thing, and the cartoon characters and perspectives are dynamic. The factual material, which describes the possible intent of the art and how it was created, is based on current theory. The book would work well one-on-one or with a group as a lead-in to the photographs and content of Dorothy Hinshaw Patent's well-documented Mystery of the Lascaux Cave (Benchmark, 1998).
Wendy Lukehart, Dauphin County Library, Harrisburg, PA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"The cave art ... is a respectable imitation of the real thing, and the cartoon characters and perspectives are dynamic. The factual material, which describes the possible intent of the art and how it was created, is based on current theory. The book would work well one-on-one or with a group."--School Library Journal

"These delightful characters tell readers about the people who painted the animals and what the paintings meant to them, helping to bring the Stone Age to life."--Baton Rouge Advocate

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Crystal Productions (May 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1562903233
• ISBN-13: 978-1562903237
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #834,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Introduction to Cave Art, July 21, 2001

By 

korglady (Nicholasville, KY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cave Painter of Lascaux (A Journey Through Time) (Hardcover)

I purchased this book last year and read it to my Kindergarten students when we were learning about cave art (I teach elementary art). They enjoyed the story and it gave them a good introduction to cave art. Today I was browsing on this site and happened to click on this page to see if anyone had reviewed this book. When I read the editorial review, I was puzzled. It seems as if the reviewer read a different version of the book than the one that I have. The book I have is about a girl whose class goes on a field trip to the Lascaux caves. This part of the story is not realistic, because the cave is closed to the public. While there, she gets separated from her group. As she is wandering through the cave the flash on her camera goes off and she catches a glimspe of the fantastic paintings of animals on the cave walls. All of a sudden, she feels a tug at her camera strap. It is a caveman who is trying to keep her from falling. It turn out that he is not a real caveman. He is an expert on the stone age and a tour guide. He's dressed like a caveman for the tourists. While they are talking, a real caveman appears and tells them about how real cavemen dressed and lived. When the girl hears her tour bus honking and realizes that she has to leave, the real caveman gives her his necklace, she says goodbye to both cavemen, and she hurries to catch her bus. There is absolutely nothing in the story about a caveman attempting to start a fire with two sticks or the girl giving the caveman matches. I wonder if the reviewer read an earlier version of the story that was changed before it was published in the United States.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book!, February 5, 2010

By 

Hey Art Lady "E. H." (Georgia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Cave Painter of Lascaux (Hardcover)

I am an elementary school art teacher, and this book was a perfect addition to my unit on the Lascaux cave paintings. I read this book aloud to all my second grade classes. This book can be read aloud in ten to fifteen minutes which is perfect for my classes. My students thought the book was funny and they were engaged in the story. After the story, there is some additional useful information on prehistoric artists. Great Book!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As entertaining as it is informative, July 10, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cave Painter of Lascaux (Hardcover)

When Anna and her classmates go on tour to see the famous cave paintings in Lascaux, France, she gets separated from her group and meets a tour guide dressed as a caveman who explains to her some of the wonderful things she see's in the elaborate cave system. Then Anna and the tour guide meet someone else dressed as a caveman -- and he's the real thing! He is one of the artists who drew the famous paintings of humans and animal life on the walls of the cave. Their new acquaintance tells them what life was really like back in the Stone Age. Eventually Anna is able to rejoin her classmates and has learned a great deal about not only the cave paintings, but the people who made them. A superbly written and illustrated picturebook story by Roberta Angeletti, "The Cave Painter Of Lascaux" is further enhanced for young readers with a section about what archaeology has taught us about people of the Stone Age with respect to who they were, where they lived, what they wore, what we speculate they believed in, and how it's thought that the beautiful cave paintings in Lascaux were created so long ago. "The Cave Painter Of Lascaux" is as entertaining as it is informative and a welcome, enthusiastically recommended addition to school and community library picturebook collections for young readers.