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'The Shape Game'
and
'More Than Meets the Eye'
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[JULY 21, 2004]
"The
Shape Game," written and illustrated by Anthony Browne, Farrar, Straus, Giroux,
2003, 24 pages, ages 5-8
"More Than Meets the Eye: Seeing Art
With All Five Senses," by Bob Raczka, Millbrook Press, 2003, 31
pages, kindergarten to grade 4 |
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Reviews by
Louella Moreland
Are you a person who thinks books about
visual art are too much like schoolwork? Are you looking for a
change of pace this summer? If so, you might want to check out "The
Shape Game," by Anthony Browne, and "More Than Meets the Eye: Seeing
Art With All Five Senses," by Bob Raczka. Both of these new books
use representations of actual art masterpieces but are definitely
not of the textbook category!
Browne's book tells the story of a
family's trip to an art museum. Mom is the one who chooses to go as
a birthday trip, while the father and two sons are along just to
make Mom happy -- at least in the beginning. The father is obviously
not happy about missing the game on TV but tries to make the most of
the trip by telling (very unfunny) jokes.
Although the trip starts out a little
rocky for the males of the family, Mom begins asking them questions
about the art they see. By looking closely for clues in the
paintings, they begin to bring life to scenes, even using their own
lives to make stories to fit what they are seeing.
At a visit to the gift shop the family
purchases a book with blank pages and two colored markers. They use
these to play a shape game on the train ride home. In the last
lines, the author tells us, "And, in a way, I've been playing the
shape game ever since…"
[to top of second column in
this article]
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Bob Raczka, an Illinois native and
graduate of the University of Illinois, uses our five senses to
explore visual art. How can you taste or hear a painting? Look
closely, he advises. How can you smell a painting? Well, that pig
sure looks real and many children of central Illinois are very
familiar with the smell of pigs! Tasting, hearing, smelling, feeling
and seeing are all covered by wonderful examples of art from various
periods in history. He even includes a listing at the end of the
book.
The reader can learn more about artists
who created each painting, including when they lived, their
nationality and what type of painting they specialize(d) in
producing. From Milton Avery to James Wyeth, the listing reads
almost like an alphabet of painters! From Leonardo da Vinci's
creations in the late 15th and early 16th century to modernistic
Victor Vasarely, this book is a delight to all five of the reader's
senses!
The Lincoln
Public Library offers many types of books on fine arts for anyone
who wants to know more about art, artists, processes or just for
fun! Come check them out at 725 Pekin St.!
[Louella Moreland, youth
services librarian,
Lincoln
Public Library District] |
