Monday, February 13, 2012

Top 10 Arty Children’s Books

April 8, 2009 by · Leave a Comment 

Perhaps you’re hoping that your bambino will turn out to be the next Tracey Emin. Or maybe (if you really want to be kept in comfort in your old age) a future Charles Saatchi. Whatever your aspiration, there’s a glut of art-based books on the market to set your little one off on the right track. We’ve picked our favourites.

Art for Baby: 0

Start out with Art for Baby- a classic board book featuring black and white pictures (and a free frieze) by renowned contemporary artists, such as Gary Hume, Damien Hirst and Bridget Riley. The contrast images claim to transfix and soothe fractious babies and, as if that weren’t enough reason to buy one immediately, £1.50 from each sale goes to the NSPCC. £9.89 including p&p from Amazon.

Counting with Wayne Thiebaud<p>See larger image<br/>Share your own customer images<br/>Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.<br/>Counting with Wayne Thiebaud (Board book) Andy Warhol's Colors (Board book)

Other board books to try are Counting with Wayne Thiebaud, which features the American artist’s famous paintings of cakes, hot dogs and lollipops (£3.99 from Ikon Gallery) and Andy Warhol’s Colors which… well, you can imagine (3.43 from Aphrohead), both by Susan Rubin.

miffy at the gallery Pied Piper of Hamelin: A Colouring Book By Anthony Caro
Classic children’s characters are getting in on the act too. Dick Bruna’s achingly cute bunny offers her own take on art appreciation in Miffy at the Gallery – buy from the Miffy Shop for £3.99, while Robert Browning’s Pied Piper of Hamelin is transformed into an exquisite colouring book by sculptor Anthony Caro (£4.49 from Amazon).

when pigasso met mootisse mini masters katie & the british artists
As an introduction to famous names, I’d recommend Nina Laden’s When Pigasso Met Mootisse (Amazon), a comical look at a dispute between two very different artists. Julie Merberg’s boxed set of Mini Masters explores Degas, Matisse, Monet and Van Gogh and makes a great gift at £10.79 from Amazon, while Katie and the British Artists by James Mayhew (£8.99 from Amazon) focuses on Turner, Gainsborough, Constable and Stubbs. Illustrator Quentin Blake’s Tell Me A Picture is an alphabetical romp through art history, with each work revealing a story, portrayed in Blake’s inim itable way – £10.99 from the National Gallery.

one red dot

Finally, my personal favourite children’s art books are David A Carter’s amazing pop-ups – the paper sculptures on each page are mini works of art in themselves and guaranteed to captivate even the youngest bambinos. His latest is One Red Dot, £12.74 from Amazon.

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