SQUEAKING OF ART, The Mice Go to the Museum [Hardcover]

Monica Wellington (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up

Brilliant in color, conception, and execution, Squeaking of Art brings the subject of art to the youngest readers. In this truly child-oriented guide to art appreciation, ten mice pals visit a museum filled with some of the world's most famous paintings and talk about what they see.

Each gallery in the fantasy museum groups paintings by subject, such as pets or music, or by category, such as portraits or landscapes. From Matisses to Mondrians, van Goghs to Vermeers, there are versions of eighty-five paintings from all eras painted in Wellington's bright and graphic style. Written in a simple yet exuberant way, questions and comments pepper the text and invite children to participate. Part child's-eye view of a museum and part ode to the inspirational power of great masterpieces, this extraordinary picture book lays the foundation for a lifelong love of art by showing how much fun visiting an art museum can be.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-This book helps adults and children to "develop the skills and vocabulary for looking at, talking about, and enjoying art together." Ten mice tour a variety of thematic galleries, e.g., "Portraits," "Landscapes," "Still Lifes," and "Fantastic Creatures." On the walls are simplified renditions of famous masterpieces (mostly by male European and American artists) and short notes on the theme or genre. Printed on white borders below are engaging questions ("What are your favorite colors in these paintings? What shapes can you find-?") and commentary from the mice. Each spread also features a cat that adds a component from each exhibit into her own painting as she tours the museum. There's a lot going on, and children may have trouble staying focused. The vivid gouache pictures are busy; the reproductions are reminiscent of, but less effective than the originals. A complete list of the works and where they are located is appended. Laurene Krasny Brown and Marc Brown's Visiting the Art Museum (Dutton, 1992) uses dialogue bubbles to present conversations about art in a less distracting manner. Nevertheless, shared one-on-one with a child, Wellington's age-appropriate questions and playful approach to art work both as model and motivation for visiting a museum.
Wendy Lukehart, Dauphin County Library, Harrisburg, PA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Chosen as one of the Top 10 Youth Art Books of 2000. "An excellent discussion book." -- Booklist, December 15, 2000

Engaging and instructive... a trip as enjoyable for the knowledgable adult as for the child...this book is warm and charming. -- Boston Globe; October 1, 2000; Peter F. Neumeyer

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525461655
• ISBN-13: 978-0525461654
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 10.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,361,674 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Squeaking of art is great for kids, August 8, 2000

By 

Barbara Sharp (Marietta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SQUEAKING OF ART, The Mice Go to the Museum (Hardcover)

I found this book at my local library, and now I'm buying one copy for home and one copy for my kid's school. Perfect for art lovers - especially ages 3 and up. The book takes you through a kid friendly version of well known artworks catagorized by topic (portraits, music, fantasy...) The real names and artists conveniently and pictorially indexed in the back. Throughout the book, the cat artist picks one part of one picture per page and creates her own masterpiece. My kids loved seeing which picture she liked best, and how she incorporated it into her final painting. The text can be long, but it's great for reading color words and teaching creative seeing, and for the younger kids you can always ad lib and just look at the pictures. I highly recommend this book. -- [e-mail]

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific book for young art lovers, March 24, 2011

By 

Raising a Happy Child (Northern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SQUEAKING OF ART, The Mice Go to the Museum (Hardcover)

This is a great book that lets young children experience museum visit without leaving their house. Moreover, all the works in the book are true masterpieces of famous artists (the last book tells adults what is what). I had so many fun conversations with my 4 year old about this book - she loves it!