Customer Reviews

Touch the Art: Feed Matisse's Fish

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book appeared in the "Picks" section of People Magazine. The whole series is great. Kids get intriduced to master works as the illustrations of the clever and engaging stories. The books are a fun and relaxed way for kids and parents to journey through art history together, imagining themseves in the paintings or the stories they tell. The "artifacts" in the back of the books are an art history 101, fun for kids and curators alike, but the books are much more about making art accessible and fun for kids than preparing them for the SAT and an art history degree. It is a great gift for friends with little kids, a rare find that allows parents to learn alongside their 3-7 year olds.

I read a review of this book in People magazine of all places. Since I have a degree in fine art and want my two boys (2 and 4) to love art as much as I do, I ordered Feed Matisse's Fish for Christmas. The boys loved it so much that I ordered Make Van Gogh's Bed for by 2 year old's birthday and I plan to order the Pop Art one just for the heck of it. They're beautiful, they're a great introduction to the masterworks, they show a diverse array of art, and most importantly the kids really enjoy them.

My 1 and 1/2 year old daughter loves this book and so do I! It includes art by Matisse, Modigliani, Jacob Lawrence, Diego Rivera, Edward Hopper, Grant Wood, Georges Suerat, Frida Kahlo, and Marc Chagall. Each work of art has a touch and feel element (some are more fun than others). At the end of the book there is a brief paragraph about each work of art and the artist who created it.
The stars of this book are the works of art. The words that accompany them are fine, nothing that would win literary awards but cute enough that my daughter remembers that the last line of every page ends with the word "day" and enthusiastically pitches in her contribution while reading this book!
I liked this one so much I bought the rest of the series! Its a great concept to make famous works of art more approachable by adding touch and feel!

This book is neither interactive nor a good introduction to art for kids. There are 9 paintings, 7 of which have a single textured touch space (actually some of them aren't even textured). There is no textured touch space in the paintings by Modigliani or Frida Kahlo. The portrait by Modigliani has a single tiny braid and Frida Kahlo's scarf has a little bit of fringe at the end of it. That's it. Part of the problem is because the book itself is too small. If it were larger, more of these touch spaces or interactive elements could have been added. If the book were truly "interactive" Modigliani's Girl with Braids would have a full head of hair so you could braid both braids. Frida Kahlo's scarf would be made of real fabric so you could tie it or play with it. The entire blackboard in Jacob Lawrence's painting should have been cut out and painted with chalkboard paint so children could really write on it. The neon bulbs in Edward Hopper's work could have been replaced by little beads and rhinestones so they would have texture and sparkle. The "interactive" elements of the book could not be more disappointing.

Out of all of the colorful and fantastical paintings of last century that the authors could have chosen to excite children's imaginations and foster their interest in art, it is inconceivable that they gathered together such a static and wholly uninspiring collection. Except for Matisse's fish, all of the paintings are portraits or pictures of people, all of whom have somber expressions on their face. I don't think a portrait of a girl or a picture of two women sitting at a table is going to excite children, much less turn them on to art. The subject matter should be more varied. Also, if this is a book on 20th century art, why is Seurat included?

It's a shame that in a book about art, the left page is wholly blank except for 4 little lines of text. Either the painting should have covered both sides and the text been written much smaller, or better yet they should have eliminated the uninspired text and included a small biography or story about the artist. The book does include a section on each artist, but it's in the back of the book, so you have to flip back to it - not very kid friendly. In my opinion, the details about the artists are not geared to 4-8 year olds.

My 16-month old loves touch and feel books. Understandably this one did not hold her interest long. It's only redeeming feature for us is that she is currently learning the parts of the face, so we will be able to get in a lot of practice with this book.

What an original way to bring art to kids. This book is one of my twins favorite. I read it to them at least 3 times a day they love the touch and feel aspect, I love that it is full of famous painting's. Recently my 6 year old was at a museum and recognized one of the artist because of this book. Really a great book. I have given it as a gift and everyone loves the originality. The whole series is great.

This is the second in this series of books I have bought for my 14 month old nephew. He has always enjoyed "touch" books, and I thought these were a wonderful way to entertain him and introduce him to some art as well. Each page is a work of art with something to touch (scales on Matisse's fish, the glasses on the man in American Gothic, a girl's braid in a Frida Kahlo painting, etc.) and a simple rhyme to go along. The text of the books are OK, this one assigns a chore to every hour of the day and is less pandering than the text in Pop Warhol's Top.

I knew it was a winner when my sister texted me the day after Christmas to say that my nephew had gotten the book out and was "reading" it all by himself!

My children love these books, of them this seems to be their favorite. I thought actual art may be boring for them but they seem thrilled with it. This may be because of the tasteful touch and feel aspect of each picture. Whatever the reason, Yeah! A great way to expose them to actual art at a very early age!!

Overall, I think this book is terrific. If your little ones love touch and feel books, this book will likely appeal to them. There is a pretty decent mix of art types from the 20th century, and the rhyming text is simple and appealing to little people.

My only complaints: At one point, the text refers to a bright green tree, but in the book itself, the tree is covered with very dark green felt. Also, the cover could have been thicker. My toddler, who is generally quite careful with books, managed to bend the die-cut cover in half.

Feed Matisse's Fish is a cute little interactive art book. I have all the books in this set, and have to say that my children enjoy all of them. These books are a great interactive and tactile way to teach your children about art. These will be your child's favorite books.

After getting one of the touch the art books, we had to get more. Our baby loves them so much! They are fun, informative and clever.