The Cool Counting Books go to the Lone Star State, the numerical tour of which starts, of course, with one star. Each clean spread depicts the numeral in question and a corresponding number of objects to count: two longhorns, three basket-, foot- and baseballs, four astronauts (in an especially snazzy white-on-black spread) all the way up to cowboy hats. Thumbnails in the back identify the objects specifically, in both English and Spanish. (Non-Texans mystified by the eight cars sticking up out of the horizon line will be particularly grateful to understand that this represents Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo.) 123 Chicago (ISBN: 978-0-9796213-5-2) applies the same treatment to the Windy City, but with somewhat less success. (6-18 mos.)
Pub Date: April 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7976213-6-9
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Duo Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pitamic bites off more than she can chew with this instructional art volume, but its core projects will excite in the right context. Twelve pieces of fine art inspire two art projects apiece. Matisse’s The Snail opens the Color section; after history and analysis, there’s one project arranging multicolored tissue-paper squares and one project adding hue to white paint to create stripes of value gradation. These creative endeavors exploring value, shade, texture and various media will exhilarate young artists—but only with at best semi-successful results, as they require an adult dedicated to both advance material procurement and doing the artwork along with the child. Otherwise, complex instructions plus a frequent requirement to draw or trace realistically will cause frustration. Much of the text is above children’s heads, errors of terminology and reproduction detract and the links between the famous pieces and the projects are imprecise. However, an involved adult and an enterprising child aged seven to ten will find many of the projects fabulously challenging and rewarding. Art In Action 2 (ISBN: 978-0-7641-441-7) publishes simultaneously. (artist biographies, glossary, location of originals) (Nonfiction. Adults)
Pub Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7641-4440-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Barron's
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2010
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