I thought I would like this book and that it would be a good resource for next year so I purchased it from Amazon. The book arrived yesterday and I love it. Its a beautiful hard cover book with lots of color inside. There are artists from many countries which will work well with my geography unit next year. Off the top of my head I remember artists from France, U. S., Norway, Africa, Holland, China, Japan, and I know there are others. I was also impressed with the projects that relate to the artist and his/her work. They are unique projects and Princess Poodle is already begging to start them! She can't wait to creat a wave print that resembles the wave of Housakai, or to make a foil man figure, or to recreate Degas' dancers with soft pastels.
For each painting there is a background on the work, a background on the artist, and directions for the project. I am at heart a simple girl and this book is simple and will be easy to implement. As for the materials needed, they are listed in the front of the book. For my overseas friends, if you are interested I could email you a list of what is needed and then you might be able to determine if you can get the supplies.
The only thing I feel is a good supplement to this book would be another book that contains other pieces from the artists. I am seeing the benefit of my daughter and son seeing many pieces from one artist. They are starting to recognize the style of the artist even if they don't know the name of the style etc. We were in the library the other day and we always stop to look at the pieces of art by local artists. Princess Poodle pointed to one and said, "Mommy it looks like a Cezanne" and it did!! Something about the style was very similar. I have a book that showcases a piece of art for each day of the year. Many of the same artists' works appear in each book. For those that do not I will probably use the internet or library books to showcase other pieces from an artist we are covering. I will also use projects from Discovering Great Artist to supplement more artists for a country or use when we just feel like doing more art.
My Final Review: If you love art and you want your kids to appreciate art, if you are a hands on mom that enjoys projects, and if you can't wait to feast on Degas, Monet, Matisse, Roussao (bad spelling I know) then this is the book for you. If used properly this book will allow your kids to see, hear, and feel good art. As for tasting and smelling..well I'm in search of a good multicultual cookbook and I'll let you know when I find one.
Thanks for stopping by,
Sheryl
