The Great Art Scandal : Solve the Crime, Save the Show! [Hardcover]

Anna Nilsen (Author), Martha Gavin (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Find the rogue painting and save the exhibition and the City Gallery! Children will have hours of fun exercising their powers of observation as they spot the clues that reveal which artist painted each picture. While they have fun solving the mystery, they'll be enjoying an inspiring introduction to thirty-two of the world's greatest modern artists.

The split pages make this book a fun, interactive experience, rich with fascinating facts about the paintings and the painters and their techniques—all the ingredients needed to inspire a lifelong interest in modern art. Also included is a glossary of art terms.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4 Up--This is an ambitious and unusual mixture of mystery and art appreciation in a comic-book format. There is a lot of information included from a visual and verbal perspective. The premise is that a rival is trying to sabotage the opening of an exhibition and the curator, Molly Adams, needs help from readers to identify the works of the artists since the information panels are missing and the hard drive on her computer with the data has been stolen. The modern paintings contain details from a selection of masterworks. Examining the split pages, readers must determine which fictitious artist did the paintings and which details were incorporated. For those who like to solve puzzles and who have a keen eye, this is a humdinger. As Molly herself says, every painting must be studied from top to bottom. Fortunately, the answers are appended. There is also a glossary of art terms and biographical information on the 32 famous artists, who range from Andy Warhol to Claude Monet. This offbeat approach to introducing great artists and their works may intrigue older readers but may also frustrate others since the details are sometimes very subtle. A fine addition for large collections.--Carol Schene, Taunton Public Schools, MA
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Review

An ambitious and unusual mixture of mystery and art appreciation...A fine addition for large collections. (School Library Journal )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Kingfisher; 1 edition (September 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0753455870
• ISBN-13: 978-0753455876
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 9.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #520,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #100 in Books > Children's Books > Arts, Crafts & Music > Art > Painting

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, May 31, 2005

By 

K. Baron "NJ Mom" (Morristown, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Great Art Scandal : Solve the Crime, Save the Show! (Hardcover)

I bought this for Christmas for my son who is 7 yrs. old. We enjoy looking for the clues together, while learning about some of the most famous painters and their paintings!

It is a lot of fun! I suggest keeping a notebook and pencil by this book, as you will need to keep track of painting details!

Enjoy - great investment!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I can't say enough good things about this book, February 20, 2006

By 

D. L. Burke "book giving auntie" (Galveston TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Great Art Scandal : Solve the Crime, Save the Show! (Hardcover)

The day after I gave this book to my 12 year old niece, she called to say, "I LOVE my birthday book...are there any more like it?" And there are, thank goodness! This is the cleverest idea I've seen yet for enticing people to really look at art...and not just kids. Upon receiving the book, I immediatly sat down to solve the puzzle and didn't get up until about two hours later. The framework for presenting the art, that the reader is a detective attempting to find the fakes, is completely self motivating and the fakes are so well done that one must really look closely to discover the differences. The Great Art Scandal, another book in the series, is quite a bit harder to solve...I am still working on the third book, Art Auction Mystery.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great in the class room, August 9, 2007

By 

J. Evans "jen art diva" (Chandler, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Great Art Scandal : Solve the Crime, Save the Show! (Hardcover)

I put this book out as extra reading during free time. The kids can't get enough of trying to solve the mystery. They don't realize they are learning about art at the same time.