The Usborne Art Treasury (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Nicola Butler (Contributor)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Each project in this colorful, attractive compendium of art projects begins with a particular work of art, from paintings by artists such as Degas, Klee, and O'Keeffe to a Calder mobile, a print by Hokusai, and a bark painting by Australian Aboriginal artist Johnny Bulunbulun. Following a double-page spread carrying a picture of the art as well as information about the work and its creator, the next spread shows readers how to create a piece of art inspired by an idea or technique in that section. Throughout the book, the excellent presentation of the projects makes them seem not only possible to complete but also worth doing. Illustrated step-by-step, the instructions are clearly written and practical, while not too narrowly focused on achieving a specific result in terms of design. This fine book will encourage art-minded children to try new ideas and new media while looking to the past for inspiration. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Usborne Books (January 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0794514529
• ISBN-13: 978-0794514525
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #20,360 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #3 in	Books > Children's Books > Arts & Music > Art > History
  #10 in	Books > Children's Books > Arts & Music > Art > Sculpture
  #80 in	Books > Children's Books > Arts & Music > Crafts & Hobbies

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect mix of art and art history!, June 8, 2008

By	mother22 (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This book is wonderful! I am planning to use it as an art/art history curriculum for my kindergarten-age daughter in the fall, and I can hardly wait to get started! The book includes art by 22 artists from better-known van Gogh, Degas, and Picasso to lesser-known 20th-century artists and unknown African mask makers and Iranian tile artists. One work of art by each artist is showcased along with brief, interesting history about the piece and the artist. On the next page spread, there is detailed instructions for creating art using similar techniques to those of the artist. There is a fairly wide scope of projects--acrylics, pastels, water color techniques along with more projects like mask making, sculpture, mobile making, block painting and others.

The book is colorful and beautifully illustrated. While I like all of the Usborne art books, this one stands out particularly because the pieces become inspiration for the child's creativity. The necessary supplies for the projects are very simple. I consider myself to have a fairly limited craft closet, but I have every item called for in the book. I think its content is a little advanced for kindergarten, but I plan to keep it "low pressure and experimental." I think this book would be a great resource up through elementary school.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful paintings and fun art projects for kids to relate, October 31, 2007

By	Make it Funny (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

Really beautiful sample of paintings, prints, sculptures, etc... Although my child is too young to read, we selected a few pieces of art she was interested in, and I read it to her.
If your young child watches 'Little Einstein', this book is great because some of the art pieces showcased in the cartoon are in this book. And, the book has extra tidbits about the piece and the artist, which gives the art an extra dimension and something for my child to think about when she sees the works of art in Little Einstein.
The projects suggested or inspired by each art work are also really neat. You could make it work for any age since there is a different project for each art piece.

My only minor gripe is that some of the paintings are folded in the binding since the book is not an extra large size. This takes a bit away from the 'wow' factor of the pieces.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great classroom resource, March 27, 2009

By	Lydia Love (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

I ordered this book because others had rated it so highly and am so glad I did. There are nice brief bios of each artist or art style. A nice illustration of the featured work and best of all fabulous step by step instructions for how to make a beautiful project with kids of any age.