From School Library Journal
Gr 3 Up--Koja and Miksovsky begin with Monet's early years in Le Havre and move through his life and art in straightforward, chronological order. Drawings, paintings, and photographs enliven the text. Kutschbach's focus is on a group of artists who only came together for a short time, although their influence has lasted much longer. Here, the layout bounces and swirls on the page, with the text changing color, direction, and style. This sometimes makes the narrative difficult to follow. While Klee and Kandinsky are well known artists in this group, the book also brings in the women who were part of the movement. It is a wonderful group to explore. Children should relish learning about artists who freed color and form from reality to intensify its expressive power. One unifying feature of both books is the excellent color reproductions of the artwork. These books are very different, but both will be welcome additions to art collections.Judith Gloyer, Milwaukee Public LibraryCopyright 1998 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Book Description
Claude Monet was a true magician of light and of colour. Yet it is not only his painting that fascinates us, but also the interesting life he led with his family and many friends. This book tells the tale of an unusual artist and his wonderful pictures.

Language Notes
Text: English
Original Language: German

From the Publisher
Adventures in Art is a new, exciting, colourful series of books for the young and the young at heart. It takes us on a voyage of discovery, exploring the world of art and showing us how to look at pictures in a relaxed, light-hearted way.

ANNOTATION

Striving to teach children how to look at art, the oversize Adventures in Art series begins with three titles of exceptional range. In The Duke and the Peasant: Life in the Middle Ages, Sister Wendy Beckett discusses the calendar pictures of the TrFs Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry, comparing the lot of the wealthy duke with that of the hardworking peasants. Most adventurous in format, The Blue Rider: The Yellow Cow Sees the World in Blue by Doris Kutschbach follows Wassily Kandinsky and the German expressionists: typefaces of different colors and sizes describe the works and relate the stories behind them. Keith Haring: I Wish I Didn't Have to Sleep! by DTsirTe la Valette combines a very brief, informal biography of the artist with children's reactions to 11 of his energetic pictures, prompting the reader's participation with questions like "What do you think happened?" and "How does this make you feel?" And perhaps most traditional in approach, the engagingly written Monet: The Magician of Colour by Stephen Koja and Katja Miksovsky provides a biographical context for viewing the paintings.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Learning about the life and work of the famous French painter Claude Monet (1840-1926) doesn't have to start with reading an art history book. This CD-ROM lets you explore the best-known paintings of the great Impressionist master from an endless variety of angles, a playful, interactive approach that fits well with Monet's groundbreaking explorations of light and color.

FROM THE CRITICS

School Library Journal