2. Purpose of Resource Guide
● Provide resources to foster art appreciation
among children and students
● Provide resources to instruct students in
various artistic manifestations
● Provide resources for educators, public and
homeschool, to foster art appreciation and
understanding among students
● Provide resources for students for students
to understand art as an integral aspect of
history
4. Heine, Florian. 13 Paintings Children Should
Know. New York: Prestel, 2012.
This title offers biographies of 13 important painters with full-
color reproductions of their paintings. The painters include some
of the obvious choices, like Rembrandt, but also includes some
lesser known artists such as Hieronymus Bosch. The biographies
are put into context with a timeline which highlights world
events. This title is accessible to it’s intended audience, fourth
through eighth grade, while still being informative to readers of
any age.
(Booklist, Nov. 15, 2012 (Vol. 109, No. 6))
5. Essential Artists by David Spence
Each volume of this series offers a biography of an influential
artist intended for ages 11 through 15. What sets this series apart
is that instead of only giving a biography and some reproduction
of the artist’s work, the author includes a discussion of various
interpretations of the art works. This is a resource to help students
practice in art criticism.
(VOYA, August 2011 (Vol. 34, No. 3)
6. Art and Culture of the Prehistoric World by
Beatrice Brooke
Art and Culture of the Prehistoric World offers readers an insight
into a little known era of artistic expression. The language in this
title is very well suited for readers ages 9 through 12. It will
appeal to students interested in art and history. This resource
offers a bibliography for further reading, an index, and a glossary
of defined words which is especially helpful for students when
learning about prehistoric eras.
(Midwest Book Review (Children's Bookwatch, January 2010))
7. Pop Art by Richard Spilsbury
Pop Art is intended for students in 5th through 8th grade. With
defined vocabulary words, suggested reading, and clear language
this title explains the art movement through the 1950's and
1960's. This title would be a good resource for parents who were
homeschooling their children and want to expose them to
somewhat modern art.
(Booklist, Jan. 1, 2009 (Vol. 105, No. 9))
8. !Women Art Revolution from Zeitgeist Films
While men tend to dominate discussions of western art, !Women
Art Revolution portrays the feminist art movement over the last
four decades. It chronicles the rejection of the first wave of
feminist art to the actions of the Guerilla Girls. This film
incorporates interviews from art critics and curators, feminist
artists, and experpts from performance pieces. Although not
intended for children, this film would be suitable for mature
students and could easily be used in an art or modern american
history classroom or lesson plan.
10. Inkblot: Drip, Splat, and Squish Your Way to
Creativity by Margaret Peot
This title represents a very underrepresented art form. Peot
offers clear, step-by-step instructions for users to create
their own inkblot art. This title is useful for parents and
teachers who want to introduce children to an uncommon
and fun form of art. The real appeal behind this title lies in
that it can appeal to students who feel they have no artistic
talent because inkblots are more abstract and rely laregly
on interpretation.
(Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2011 (Vol. 79, No. 4))
11. Cartoons and Manga by Des Taylor
This title will not have universal appeal, but it will have great
appeal to children and students who are interested in comic
books, graphic novels, manga, and anime. This title is unique
among cartooning books because it explains the drawing aspect
along with digital illustration and animation. Boldfaced words
found throughout the text are defined in the glossary and the text
is littered with facts about famous animators and manga artists.
(Booklist, Dec. 15, 2011 (Col. 108, No. 8)
12. Learn to Draw Princesses by Catherine
McCafferty
Although this does not seem at first glance to be a good title to
refer a budding artist to, this title (with specialized appeal,
admittedly) is a great resource to help children practice the details
of sharp lines, shape, and color while keeping some interested in
characters the already know like Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella.
Besides only instructing students on how to draw a particular
figure, the text also takes another approach and tells the student
what does not work in drawing.
(Booklist, Mar. 15, 2011 (Vol. 107, No. 14))
13. Art in Action by Matja Pitamic
This title takes 12 masterpieces and gives step-by-step
instructions for two related projects on each masterpiece. This
title exposes students to many different schools of art like pop art
and cubism. The related projects go beyond simple drawings, but
include building theme boxes and making prints out of rubber
bands. With some parental or teacher guidance children can learn
about famous artists and artistic methods while exploring their
own creativity through various mediums.
14. Art Skills by Stephanie Turnbull
Art Skills is a resource which shows users how to create art
through various forms such as drip painting, watercolor, making
prints with fruit, body painting, and collage. Teachers and parents
will be able to find many fun projects to do with children
throughout this book. Also, this book includes a discussion on
careers in the arts. There is included lists of art-related websites
and a glossary defining the terms used throughout the text.
15. African Americans in the Visual Arts by Steven
Otfinkski
African Americans in the Visual Arts contains biographies of
African American artists who worked with various mediums such
as performance art, sculpting, and installation art. Each biography
offers a bibliography with websites for users to view the artists
work. This is an informative resource for students to begin their
research into the visual arts or for students researching an African
American artist.
(American Reference Books Annual 2012)
17. American Folk Art by Kristin Congdon
It is often easier for students to find biographical information on
well-known artists like Picasso than folk artists. This reference
title catalogs American folk artists who the author deems as
innovative in the way they produced art. This title is well
organized with indexes in the front which lists artists by media,
region, and alphabetically. There is included a glossary,
bibliography, and a list of American museums which exhibit
American folk art.
(American Resource Books Annual 2013)
18. America: A History in Art by W.G. Scheller
This reference resource offers users a glimpse of history through
the eyes of art. It is separated into general periods like "First
Americans" and "The Gilded Age". It shows what forms of art
dominated America at certain times - from painting in the
beginning, to photography, to utilitarian architecture. This
resource is unique in that in chronologically shows the evolution
of American art as American history unfolded. The title offers
photographs of many art works along with a description, where it
is housed, and how the work was created. This resource is
valuable to students interested in art or American history.
(American Reference Books Annual 2009)
19. Atlas of Egyptian Art by Prisse e'Avennes
This is a very valuable resource for public and school libraries as
many students, at one point or another, do some project on Egypt.
This resource chronicles trips to Egypt from French artist Prisse
e'Avennes and the photographs he took of the pyramids and
tombs in the 1860's along with his notes. Many of the
photographs include descriptions and cross-references making
this an informative and enjoyable resource for students interested
in ancient Egypt.
(American Reference Annual 2009)
20. The Concise Dictionary of Art Terms by
Michael Clarke
This is a pretty straightforward resource. It is an alphabetical list
of about 1,900 art terms with definitions. The terms include
techniques, schools of art, mediums, and eras. Although it is not
intended for children, older children in middle school and high
school would be able to understand the definitions making this a
useful resource for school projects or for those students who
study art independently. This is a very informative resource and
at a price of under $20 is affordable for just about any library.
(American Reference Books Annual 2011)
21. Arts and Crafts for Favorite Themes by The
Mailbox Books Staff
This title has 250 themes commonly used for preschoolers
and toddlers along with easy to follow crafts and art
projects. This resource will have great appeal to children's
librarians, preschool teachers, and caregivers. It is well
organized with an index of themes for quick use for
educators to develop simple lesson plans which incorporate
hands-on activities for young children.
22. Icons of Beauty: Art, Culture, and the Image of
Women by Debra Mancoff
This resource provides insight into one of the permeating themes
throughout the history of art - the image of women. The content
spans through different times and cultures and examines how the
female form was portrayed and it's significance in a cultural
context. This resource is valuable to students who are researching
either the topic of the female form or are researching given works
of art, or artists, which utilized the female form in their works.
Included is an index to names, works, and topics.
(American Reference Books Annual 2010)
23. Art and Architecture of the World's Religions
by Leslie Ross
This is a very well balanced analysis of the world's religions,
from the prehistoric to the modern, and their artistic
manifestations. Ross provides the same treatment to each religion
to maintain fairness. The orign and belief system is outlined with
every religion along with it's major artistic and architectural
representations. The balnced nature of this work provides users
with a quick study when researching religions or different
manifestations of art from different cultures, times, and religions.
The price of these volumes may prevent some libraries from
aquiring the titles, but it is a welcome resource to those libraries
with the financial resources.
(American Reference Books Annual 2010)
24. Axis: the Online Resource for Contemporary
Art
Axis offers information to over 2,500 contemporary artists and
curators. It needs to be noted, however, that Axis deals
exclusively with art from the United Kingdom and with
contemporary art. However, because it is a completely free
resource which makes it a very valuable resource for anybody
researching contemporary art. Axis offers users biographies,
videos, photographs, art news, and discussions.
25. Eye on Art Series
The Eye on Art Series is specifically written for middle school
and high school students. Each volume deals with a specific form
of art, from Egyptian art to manga. Each title explains the roots of
the form of art and includes many high quality, full color
photographs and illustrations. Each volume costs around $30.
Libraries can either purchase the whole set or specialize their
collection for their population.
27. Arts & Crafts for Favorite Themes: Over 250 All-new Art
Activities. Greensboro, NC: Mailbox, 2010. Print.
Brooke, Beatrice D., and Roberto Carvalho De. Magalhães. Art
and Culture of the Prehistoric World. New York: Rosen Pub.
Group, 2010. Print.
Clarke, Michael. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms.
Oxford: Oxford UP, 2010. Print.
28. Congdon, Kristin G., and Kara Kelley. Hallmark. American Folk
Art: A Regional Reference. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO,
2012. Print.
D'Avennes, Prisse, Maarten J. Raven, and Olaf E. Kaper. Atlas of
Egyptian Art. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 2007.
Print.
Favorite Princesses: Featuring Tiana, Cinderella, Ariel, Snow
White, Belle, and Other Characters!. Irvine, CA: Walter
Foster Pub., 2010. Print.
29. Lucent Books. Eye on Art. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Cengage
Learning, 2007. Print.
Mancoff, Debra N., and Lindsay J. Bosch. Icons of Beauty: Art,
Culture, and the Image of Women. Santa Barbara, CA:
Greenwood, 2010. Print.
Otfinoski, Steven. African Americans in the Visual Arts. New
York: Facts on File, 2011. Print.
Peot, Margaret. Inkblot: Drip, Splat, and Squish Your Way to
Creativity. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills, 2011. Print.
30. Pitamic, Maja. Art in Action¹: Introducing Children to the World
of Western Art with 24 Creative Projects Inspired by 12
Masterpieces. Hauppaugue, NY: Barron's, 2010. Print.
Ross, Leslie. Art and Architecture of the World's Religions. Santa
Barbara, CA: Greenwood/ABC-CLIO, 2009. Print.
Scheller, William. America, a History in Art: The American
Journey Told by Painters, Sculptors, Photographers, and
Architects. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2008. Print.
Spence, David. Essential Artists. Tunbridge Wells, Kent:
31. Spence, David. Essential Artists. Tunbridge Wells, Kent:
Ticktock Entertainment, 2009. Print.
Spilsbury, Richard. Pop Art. Chicago, IL: Heinemann Library,
2009. Print.
Taylor, Des. Cartoons and Manga. New York: PowerKids, 2012.
Print.
Turnbull, Stephanie. Art Skills. Mankato, MN: Smart Apple
Media, 2013. Print.
32. Axis: The Online Resource for Contemporary Art. N.p., n.d. Web.
17 Apr. 2013.
Wenzel, Angela. 13 Paintings Children Should Know. Munich:
Prestel, 2010. Print.
!Women Art Revolution. Zeitgeist Films, 2011. DVD.