Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #602309 in Books
• Published on: 1997-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Board book
• 24 pages

Parent's Magazine, February 1999
A far cry from the dull art-history texts you dozed over in school, these whimsical board books use modern masterpieces---by Matisse, Lichtenstein, Warhol, and others---to introduce kids to colors, shapes, and parts of the body. Even the buttocks get their 15 minutes of fame in a David Hockney piece your preschooler is sure to find funny. The colorful trio provides a great simultaneous introduction to reading and the world of fine art. Who knows---they might even give the two of you something to talk about during your next museum trip.

Customer Reviews

A wonderfully intelligent and beautifully produced book
THE ART OF SHAPES is the perfect way to introduce children to the world of modern and contemporary art. It is instructive in a fun way. The book is beautifully produced and a pleasure to browse through -- even for adults!

Great introduction to art for adults and children.
This wonderful book caught my eye on a store shelf. My son regularly selects it when its time to read. Page after page he finds something new to tell me about, enthusiastically pointing out what caught his attention. This art book holds up well under a young child's grip. The thick cardboard pages make it easy for children to enjoy it on their own. The book is for adults as well. It works on the play table or the coffee table, it looks that good. My wife and I regularly give this book as a gift, and it is well received. You will have to look a long time to find another way to exposure your children (or yourself) to a wide variety of art in such an entertaining and imaginative way.

sheer creative inspiration
My one and a half year old son devours books (literally as well as figuratively) but none has been so pleasing to his palate as The Art of Shapes. On one side of the pages of this board book are famous works of modern art by artists from Matisse to Cindy Sherman. On each of the facing pages is a shape (square, circle, cone) that has been extracted from the artwork. My son stares at both the works of art and the shapes with hypnotic intensity, turning the book every which way in order to better imbibe the luscious images. Then when he's done with it, I stare at the art and the shapes, read the illuminating and delightful descriptions of the art, and then stare some more. This very intelligent, beautiful book is the expression of sheer creative inspiration on the part of the authors as well as the artists represented--and it is sure to inspire myriad future Einsteins and O'Keefes. Both my son and I greatly look forward to Steele and Este's next book. Jenny and Tommaso McPhee