Customer Reviews

The Magical Garden of Claude Monet (Anholt's Artists Books for Children)

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I have long been a fan of Linnea in Monet's Garden - so I was very excited to find this new series of books by Laurence Anholt. Anholt's approach to introducing children to these artists - he has covered Monet, Picasso, Van Gogh, Degas, and DaVinci - is to use their art to create the backgrounds and settings for his characters. This book in particular is my favorite of the series because it is crowned with a fold out of Monet's vivid Waterlilies with a tiny boat floating across it carrying the story's members - Monet and a little girl who happens upon his garden. Before it is over, the little girl plucks one of the lilies from the famous painting as a memoir. My daughter loves this picture - and it is almost surreal to me to see Monet's art coming to life in such a manner. I can hardly wait until she visits the museum and sees the real painting. Watching her make this connection should be very exciting.

Aside from this stunning mixture of Monet's work and Anholt's own lush artwork - carefully drawn to compliment the featured art - the book gives some great educational information about Monet by weaving it into the story - all this without ever starting to sound like a textbook. The story retains its' focus and its' charm without becoming boring. That is an amazing accomplishment in my opinion.

I hope to purchase the entire set for a lovely and educational Christmas gift. These are sure to become beloved classics. Any children's book that learns to entertain both child and parent equally often does.

The Magical Garden of Claude Monet is a great way to expose young children to impressionist art. My son loved the story of Julie in Monet's garden. Julie is a young French girl who takes a train with her Mother to visit Monet's garden. As they arrive into the countryside, her dog runs away and is found in Monet's garden. Soon the painter and Julie become friends. The illustrations are bright and colorful. You almost feel as if you are inside one of Monet's paintings. Children will be captivated by the story as well as the beautiful pictures.

Anholt's lovely book about Monet is my favorite of the series about famous artists. He demystifies impressionism and actually inspires children to paint their own "magical gardens"!!

Fine art apprecation was a lost thing among adults let alone children, encouraging an understanding of art at a young age will encorage intrest in art in children and their caregivers alike. Help kids enjoy art and culture while reading a fun story. With this book, (and the others in the series) they introduce kids to the famous artworks of great painters throughout history while encoraging a childs imagination to be creative and tell a story with each picture.

This story is even better because it is based on factual people, even the little girl. She embarks on a journey with her mother to visit a friend..the little girl ends up chasing her runaway dog on the trip and finds herself in a most magnificent garden..only to find out that is the "friend" they were going to visit. This book is wonderful, historical, educational, and fun. It encourages children to think about paintings, and to form images and stories for each one, to think about "what would it be like to be inside that painting".

I can't say enough good about this series. It is a creative way to introduce kids to these artists. They are written to be kids stories and entertain while throwing in some information about who the artist is, to show the artists' general style and introduce some specific works by the artist. My daughter is 5. She soaks this stuff in. I think she would have been able to be as receptive to the stories at age 4 and maybe just earlier than that but it would have been pushing the envelope. I suspect she will enjoy the stories for another couple years.

It has lead us to google some of the actual artists' works. My daughter now wants to find some museums that have some of the pieces that are addressed in the books.

This is a "Perfect" child's book to start art appreciation for Claude Monet. Pictures and story wonderful. Adults will enjoy this book. I highly recommend it.

My daughter is studying various artists and this book brought Monet to life. She was so excited to see his "real" picture in another book after reading this. It also left a little question in the end that we could explore together. Very well done with beautiful illustrations.

I love the Anholt's series of Famous Artists stories for young children. This one is a wonderful story that even my 4 yr old loved and wanted to make pond lilly's out of coffee filters after reading the story..we love it! The book came in great condition and much earlier than expected.

This is a delightful book that even my two year old adores. When she learned that we have a small Monet print, she was enamored. Now she points to the painting every time we get the part where several of his paintings are on display. This is a great book to help build your child's appreciation for art. This book is a treasure and the kind we need to see more often in the genre.

This is a magical book as it not only tells a charming story of a little girl named Julie and her dog Louey discovering the wonders of Claude Monet's garden, but it also contains beautiful renderings of Claude Monet's famous paintings such as those of the water lilies. The book is filled with vibrant colors of the French countryside and Monet's garden, and there is a special fold-out section in the middle of the book that opens to reveal a stunning and delightful sight. This is a wonderful way to introduce art appreciation for young children, and is suitable for ages 4-8, perhaps even younger.