Continuing the topic I started last month, here are more fantastic books to keep the kids busy this summer. And there's a bonus: these books get kids to go outdoors and to use recycled materials... what more can you ask for?
Nature's Art Box: From t-shirts to twig baskets, 65 cool projects for crafty kids to make with natural materials you can find anywhere
Laura C. Martin (author)
David Cain (Illustrator)
Storey Publishing June 2003
Parent's Choice Approved Award-Winner
With a great cover like that, how can you not catch the crafting bug? As Martin says on the second page, 'To craft means to make something with your hands and people have been making crafts since time began.' Throughout the book, Martin adds insight on the history of each craft and material, engaging the reader in the entire creative process. Each project is made with a easy-to-find materials from the environment... it's a natural!
Recycled Crafts Box
Laura C. Martin
Storey Publishing March 2004
Once again, another eye-catching cover!
Most of the projects that I teach in my Art Appreciation Classes and Summer Arts and Crafts classes involve the use of recycled materials. Not only is it politically correct, it is inexpensive -- a perfect combination.
Believe it or not, I learned a few things about recycling that I didn't know. The book is written in a fun, non-preachy way.
This summer, I highly recommend that everyone go see Wall-E at the theaters and after the movie sit down and go through this book; your environment, your karma, and the future will thank you.
Organic Crafts: 75 Earth-Friendly Art Activities 
Kimberly Monaghan
Chicago Review Press March 2007
Fantastic, fun projects that would also be great for classrooms.
Of course, printed on 100% recycled paper!
Summer Crafts: Fun and Creative Summer Projects for the Whole Family
Marjorie Galen
Hylas Publishing June 2005
Two years ago when I saw this book (after reading a wonderful review in the Chicago Tribune), I fell in love. Sadly, the book is no longer in print. In my INK posts, I have tried to review books that are in print, but this book had to be mentioned in today's post. Make sure you check this book out of your library.
Summer Crafts is illustrated in beautiful photographs. My right-brain likes photographs. I like to 'see' the craft and how it is done... and these photographs are creative, artistic and fun! The crafts are some of the best I have seen; simple, unique, using naturally found/recycled materials and, most importantly, involving the family. Our family has made many of the projects.
I hope everyone is having a fun, crafty, earth-friendly summer. Get outside and enjoy the weather and nature.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Summer Books "Go Green"
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Summer Books "There's nothing to do!"
It's that time, again.
In my kids' activities (class parties, Brownies, and preschool), they have experienced all the tried and true crafts, snacks, and games at least twice. It's a tough crowd. For personal and professional reasons, I perused many books to find unique ideas to hopefully elicit comments like... "Mom, this is cool."
Here's a small sampling of my favorite books to help keep kids happy this summer:
38 Ways to Entertain Your Parents on Summer Vacation
Dette Hunter (author)
Kitty Macaulay (illustrator)
Annick Press 2005
Hands down, the best children's book for summer, and check out the title... what child wouldn't want to see what's inside? Having taught winter after school classes titled "Summer Arts and Crafts", instructed ten years of Art Appreciation activities, and bought and read every art and craft book known to man, I thought I had seen every craft possible. The ideas, activities, and fun things to do in this book are so simple, unique, and creative. But most importantly, it's a book written for kids... to empower them and to give them the ideas to enrich their summer. The illustrations are very cute and engaging.
The Kids Summer Games Book: The Official Book of Games to Play (Family Fun)
Jane Drake, Ann Love (authors)
Heather Collins (illustrator)
Kids Can Press May 2002
An indispensable book for fun in the summer. Easy-to-follow instructions for over 150 classic and new indoor and outdoor games. Yes, there are alternatives to Lego Star Wars on Playstation 2 and Guitar Hero on the Wii.
The Super Duper Art and Craft Activity Book Over 75 Indoor and Outdoor Crafts for Kids (52 Series)
Lynn Gorden (author)
Karen Johnson, Susan Synarski (illustrators)
Chronicle Books October 2005
Written by the authors of the 52 deck activity series, this book compiles the same simple, easy-to-do, creative projects that are in the card series. Fun title, cool graphic styling, and the well-written simple instructions make this book a must have.
Betty Crocker's Kids Cook!
Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls Don't you just love looking at this cover? (Sorry, I had to put this in here for me.)
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Girls Rule!
I didn't originally plan on posting about NF books that promote strong women, but the topic has been on my mind a lot lately. Strong women and girls rule because:
a) My daughter, who is also my first born, turns 16 years old this week. I am proud to say that she won "Most Strong-Willed" award in her kindergarten class. I think they created the award just for her. She's somewhat shy and reserved BUT she definitely knows her mind.
b) At this point in our historic Presidential race, I still have no idea who I'm voting for. If there is a small chance that the US support of a woman Presidential candidate would make a difference in other countries where women have little or no rights, then I'm in full support of a woman President.
c) I am a woman.
d) With all the negative influences in the media (from rap music to the fashion industry... to even the toy industry), we should empower our daughters every way we can.
Here are some really cool books that show girls that they can do ANYTHING they set their minds to and the possibilities are endless:
Her Story: A Timeline of the Women
Who Changed America
Charlotte S. Waisman
Jill S. Tietjen
Collins April 2008
This beautiful book is shelved in the Adult NF but should definitely be located in the YA and Children's NF sections. Each page explains years of amazing accomplishments by women and the timeline format illustrates so well the role of women in US and world history. The professions index is fantastic because it groups the women by all the varied occupations; in all areas of arts, business, politics, sciences, and advocacy. Just think of all the inspiration in this book! Hundreds of biographies with wonderful photos illustrate the history very clearly... and will keep children (and adults) of all ages interested.
The Sky's the Limit: Stories of Discovery by Women and Girls
Catherine Thimmesh (author)
Melissa Sweet (illustrator)
Houghton Mifflin 2004 (paperback)
A sequel to the book below, this fun, informative book delves more into the discoveries of women in science: i.e. anthropology, astronomy, biology, medicine. Of course, don't forget the word Girls in the title. There is a fantastic chapter on young girls that made great discoveries.
Wanted to add: just returned from library with daughter. While we were there, she announced, "I need some books on influential women/current history/European for AP European History." I gave her this book and she was happy!
Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women
Catherine Thimmesh (author)
Melissa Sweet (illustrator)
Houghton Mifflin 2002 (paperback)
I fell in love with this book when I saw the cover. How great is this?
Women Inventors! Yes, to a toy inventor this book is golden.
When I entered industrial design school, I was one of just a handful of girls. (My roommates thought that was really cool but not for the reason I write this post.) I was lost in the shop room and no one was willing to help. Thankfully, girls now take shop class in school along with the boys. (Whoops, got a little off topic.)
Very importantly, there's even a chapter on how to produce and submit your inventions.
I have a few patents already... hum, maybe I can be in this book someday. Even grown-up girls can dream!
Cool Women, Hot Jobs: And How You Can Go for It, Too!
Tina Schwager
Michele Schuerger
Free Spirit Publishing 2002
A current complaint of parents today is that high school is too much like college. Students choose classes geared for their major/profession beginning their freshman year and occasionally in 7th and 8th grade. How can children possibly know what they want to be 'when they grow up' when they are that age? (Heck, I'm still asking that... but that's another issue.)
Cool Women, Hot Jobs wonderfully exposes a variety of professions through interviews with 22 fascinating women and then lays out the tools needed to discover your dreams and how to achieve them.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Books to Ignite a Creative Spark
Monday and Tuesday, in our nation's capital, the 21st Annual Arts Advocacy Day was held. Dan Pink, A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, had the honor of being the guest speaker for the Nancy Hanks Lecture in the Concert Hall of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. What an honor!
I reviewed A Whole New Mind on my blog last November and finally met Dan and heard him speak here in Chicago last month. If you ever get a chance, do not hesitate to attend one of his lectures. If you are not already, you will become a strong supporter of Art Education in the schools... it all makes sense.
Here's a quote from the book:
"The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind---creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers, and meaning makers. These people--artists, inventors, designers, storytellers, caregivers, consolers, big picture thinkers---will now reap society's richest rewards and share its greatest joys." (p.1)
Combining reading (left-brain) and art (right-brain) is a perfect pairing.
Did you know that there is research that proves kids start to lose their creativity in the fourth grade?
How about some books to ignite even a small creative spark in a child?
How about some books to get those right-brain muscles energized?
Here are just of few of my favorites:
Exercise For the Brain
How Bright Is Your Brain?
Amazing Games to Play With Your Mind
Michael DiSpezio (author)
Catherine Leary (illustrator)
Sterling 2006
Everything you would want to know about the brain, nerves, and senses are in this book. It's fun, entertaining, and well-organized with bright graphics and a layout that my right-brain loved. There are even sections on Breaking Rules In Creativity, Finding Creativity, and Dreams.
Did you know that Beethoven, before he sat down to write music, dumped ice water on his head? How cool is that? 
The Imagineering Way: Ideas to Ignite Your Creativity
The Imagineers
Disney Editions 2003
The Imagineering Workout: Exercises to Shape Your Creative Muscles
The Imagineers
Disney Editions 2005
I found the first book of this series at The Writer's Stop (a bookstore tucked away at Disney World MGM). Yes, the same trip that I found Looking at Paintings, from my first I.N.K. post. While my family goes on the rides, I wander the parks. Finding that amazing coffee shop and those books were the highlight of my trip.
The imagination at Disney is legendary and these two books, told through short essays by 50 or so team members, are even creative in how they address and foster their creativity! Each story is fun, different, and enlightening. Elementary students to adults will come away thinking in a whole new way. 
KidChat Gone Wild!: 202 Creative Questions to
Unleash the Imagination
Brett Nicholas
Roaring Brook Press 2007
KidChat is a fabulous series of books for parents, teachers, and kids with questions to spark some very imaginative discussions. Two more books in the series are coming out in May 2008.
Sparks Ignite!
Reading about inventors and inventions show students their ideas matter. Below are two very well-written general nonfiction books to get kids thinking. I will leave for another post some other fantastic books on ideas and inventors. (And, there are several great books on women inventors and toy inventing, which I hope to blog about in the future.)
So You Want To Be An Inventor?
Judith St. George (Author)
David Small (Illustrator)
Puffin 2005
Ages 4-8
"If you want to be an inventor, find a need and fill it."
"If you want to be an inventor, be a dreamer."
"If you want to be an inventor, keep your eyes open."
"If you want to be an inventor, you have to be as stubborn as a bulldog."
And my personal favorite very sage advice,
"Inventors aren't all men!" (Their exclamation point, not mine.)
Power to all kids to be creative!
Kids Inventing! A Handbook for Young Inventors
Susan Casey
Jossey-Bass 2005
Ages 9-12
Written for a slightly older child, this book not only introduces kids to kid inventors but shows them how to come up with ideas and develop them.
Every step of the idea creation and development process is explained, adding encouragement along the way.
Side note:
Just to clarify, I'm both left and right-handed so I didn't intentionally set out to alienate the left-brained, right-handed community.
And, in my other life, I'm a toy inventor with several patents and awards, so I truly enjoy reading these books. I hope you will, too.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Art Books to Inspire
In my childhood, I spent many summers at Oma's house in Germany. To my brother and I, this meant a month of no television, visiting relatives that we couldn't converse with, and finding things to do instead of fighting. One summer after reading all the books we packed, I wandered into my uncle's office and looked through his library. I grabbed the ONLY book in English on the shelf and sat down to read. The book was The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone. Instantly, I was mesmerized by the story and passion of the life of Michelangelo. On our next trip to town, I made my mother stop by an art store and, when we got back, I set to work with sketchbook and pencils. My brother and I walked the winding path to the castle and I sketched the church towers. I sketched the vineyards gracing the hillsides. My sketchbook went everywhere with me. I sat in the kitchen table with Oma and sketched the castle view. Oma asked if I she could have the castle view drawing. She had it framed and the drawing hung on the entryway wall until the day she passed away.
In Irving Stone's telling of Michelangelo's life in The Agony and the Ecstasy, I found a passion that lead me to a career in art and design. With the lifestyles of today, so many children are missing the opportunity to find their artistic passion. How many Monets, Picassos, and Cassats are, at this moment, playing a video game, watching TV, or texting their friends? My biggest wish is that someday my writing will inspire one child to grab a piece of paper and pencil and draw... and find his of her artistic passion. The following are just a few of the wonderful nonfiction books I love, that hopefully will inspire children to paint, draw, sculpt, build, and create!
Inspiring Art Nonfiction, Picture Books:
Frida by Jonah Winter (author) and Ana Juan (illustrator)
Arthur A. Levine Books 2002
This book is my very favorite book on art. I have taught Art Appreciation classes in the elementary schools for 9 years and I am always finding that the book holds a captive audience for all children from Kindergarten to 5th grade. In Winter's telling of Frida Kahlo's life, her passion, creativity, and persistence shine through in a poetic narrative. The Mexican folk art of monkeys, devils, skeletons and jaguars, which represent the demons that Kahlo faced and incorporated into her paintings, add another interesting dimension to the art lesson.
Action Jackson by Jan Greenberg & Sandra Jordan (authors) & Robert Andrew Parker (illustrator)
Square Fish 2007
In this beautiful picture book, the reader follows Jackson Pollock's passion for painting, stroke by stroke.
"An athlete with a paintbrush, he uses his whole body to make the painting. Layers build with each gesture, new colors emerging, blending, and disappearing into the wet surface. He swoops and leaps like a dancer, paint trailing from a brush that doesn't touch the canvas..."
Wonderful telling of this artist's story.
Inspiring Art Nonfiction, Middle Grade:
The Spirit Catcher: An Encounter with
Georgia O'Keeffe
by Kathleen Kudlinski
Watson-Guptill 2004
Okay, I know this is not officially nonfiction but I love this book and all the books in the Art Encounters series. In Kudlinski's telling of O'Keeffe's life, through the eyes of a fifteen-year-old boy, the reader experiences all the riches of the passion and inspiration through the beauty and mystery of the desert.
Inspiring Art Nonfiction, Young Adult:
by Jan Greenberg & Sandra Jordan
Delacorte Press 2004
I wish that I could have read this book in high school. Greenberg and Jordan paint a perfect picture of this unique artist... whose passion and popularity I did not understand until way past high school. This biography mixes just the right elements of passion, angst, and artistic lifestyle to interest teens.
The Vanishing Point
by Louise Hawes
Houghton Mifflin 2004
Well, once again, this book is more historical fiction than nonfiction but this true story of the real 16th century painter, Lavinia Fontana, will absolutely inspire, educate, and empower teens through the eyes of the young artist.
And isn't that a great cover?
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Fun Art Appreciation Books for Kids (Painting Masterpieces)
What’s a Matisse?
Why is Andy Warhol so famous?
Picasso? How the heck do you explain him to a five year old?
Those were some of the questions I asked myself ten years ago when I signed up at my daughter’s elementary school’s Art Volunteer In the Classroom program. Yes, I earned a BFA. Yes, I passed the required year of Art History classes, BUT the lectures were in a huge, dark auditorium with over a thousand students at 9:00 a.m. while the professor in a monotone voice taught from the book, The History of Art. My biggest challenge in the class was staying awake. I managed to ace the exams but, believe it or not, the information jumped right out of my head after the test. (I wonder why?) So, when I signed up to be an AVIC parent, I had to relearn everything about art history AND make it fun and relatable for elementary students, and for myself.
I still remember in fourth grade when the Picture Lady came to our classroom. Many people ask me, “Do they still have Picture Lady? I remember that.” Of course, and we are still going strong. For the last eight years, I have run the Art Volunteer Program at our school. Always searching for great books that explain art to kids (and the parents), one of my favorite places in the entire world is the Children’s Book section at The Art Institute of Chicago’s Museum Store. This past year I also visited the LA County Museum of Art and the Getty Museum’s Museum Stores, and (of course) the museums, too.
The following are just a few of the most recent books I love that give a fun and kid-friendly GENERAL introduction to Art Appreciation, with an emphasis on Paintings (... and are great for parents, too!)
Looking at Paintings
An Introduction to Fine Art for Young People
Bunker Hill Publishing 2002
What a fun book for kids! Mickey Mouse... need I say more?
I found this book at The Writer's Stop (a bookstore tucked away at Disney World MGM). While my family goes on the rides, I wander the parks. Finding this book was the highlight of my trip!
Tell Me A Picture
Quentin Blake
Frances Lincoln 2006
Fun read for Kindergarten through fifth grade classes.
Asks great questions which lead to discussions about the stories behind paintings.
Quentin's drawings are fun and cool.
Artful Reading
Bob Raczka
Millbrook Press 2007
Combines two of my favorite things: Reading and Paintings!
The paintings are by some of my favorite artists and the captions that match each painting will spark great conversations.
(This is exactly what Bob was refering to in his most recent post on I.N.K. ~~~ "The trick is to write a headline that not only imparts information, but does so in an interesting way.")
Art Up Close
Claire d'Harcourt
Chronicle Books 2006
All age ranges love this book.
This was one of the books that I would read to my little guy before bed.
The layout of the book is a treat from the large paintings and fun graphics to the great historical tie-ins to the key flap-format at the end of the book.
Well, there you have it ~ my inaugural post. I am so proud and honored to be part of an amazing group of writers. I hope you will look forward to many more artsy-fartsy (that one was for Kathleen) posts and an occasional rant about increasing art education in the schools.
