A review by jar7709
Vincent's Starry Night and Other Stories: A Children's History of Art by Michael Bird

4.0

PM read-aloud. This was our main art appreciation for the year. It is quite a gentle introduction to major visual artists and movements from prehistory to the present, with an example artwork alongside three pages of context. The context usually takes the form of fictonalized p.o.v by the artist or an observer or craftsman related to the artist or the work. I would not at all call this an in-depth analysis, but it isn't meant to be. It aims to introduce kids to a sampling of artworks humans have produced over time, and give them an introduction into the ways to view and give meaning to art. This it did admirably. I also enjoy that the images chosen were often not the most famous works by an individual famous artist, sometimes referencing more famous works in the text only; to us this encouraged further curiosity and impulse to go look those up. My primary quibble with the book is the quality of the images reproduced, which often seemed fuzzy, making even photographs appearing 'painterly' to my eye. Oh well. I do think my kids are likely on the older end of the age range for this book, but they still found it interesting enough. I'll be looking for something a little more complex next.