Amazon.com
The books in Prestel's Adventures in Art series do a wonderful job of balancing respect for art with an understanding of what holds a young child's interest. Now You See It--Now You Don't is filled with excellent reproductions of the paintings of René Magritte, carefully printed in color, with a lot of white space around each one. Designed with confidence in a child's ability to find the paintings fascinating, the layout is calm, and the text is full of fun. "What a horrible meal!" reads the caption over the famous image of the plate of ham with a human eye staring out from the middle of the meat. Throughout the book such comments are written in the same proper, school-board script Magritte himself used to caption such pictures as "This is not a pipe" (which depicts--of course--a pipe). Of a painting of six everyday objects with wonky captions (such as an empty glass labeled "the storm,") titled The Key to Dreams, readers are asked, "What do you think this picture could be called?" The book reproduces many old, black-and-white, surrealist snapshots, and even introduces Man Ray to the reader. This is the sort of multifaceted book that should enthrall the parent as well as the preschooler, and probably everyone in between. --Peggy Moorman
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6-Some readers may be unsatisfied by the narrow focus of these slim volumes, but for others they may be just the ticket to nudge them into the world of fine art. Appealing layouts and the numerous, good-quality, full-color reproductions of the paintings are the strong points here. Pieter Bruegel examines the artist's The Tower of Babel. The text focuses more on Antwerp in the 16th century and the biblical story on which the painting is based than it does on Bruegel's life. A fair portion of the book is a tour of the tower lead by a stonemason depicted in the painting. An interesting section provides reproductions of other artist's interpretations of this subject. Now You See It discusses how Rene Magritte translated the sense of mystery he felt about ordinary objects to the canvas. Many full-page reproductions of his work are included. No mention is made of other surrealists. These introductory books may create more questions than they answer, making them ideal to spark classroom discussion or kick off bigger research projects.
Torrie Hodgson, Burlington Public Library, WA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Torrie Hodgson, Burlington Public Library, WA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
