My own children were too old by the time the Baby Einstein products came on the market. I’ve never actually seen one of their videos. Today at the library, the Baby Einstein ABCs of Art caught my eye. The cover shows a blue goat with a pallet, and Pablo Picasso’s picture Young Boy with Dog. I found out that the art loving goat is named Van Goat.
Inside the book, each double page spread shows a letter of the alphabet in upper and lower case. On the other side of the page are paintings. One page reads “H is for horse”. No surprises there. The picture shows a painting by Franz Marc called Little Blue Horse.
What makes this alphabet book unique are the questions that accompany the letters and pictures. Some of the questions ask the child to look closer at the paintings. They are asked to name five colors that are in the painting, or to find the mountains in the background. Other pages ask the child to find shapes. Some questions don’t have right or wrong answers. The child is asked to think of names for children in the paintings, or to imagine what the smells and sounds are like in a jungle painting. On the page with the Young Boy with Dog, we are asked to imagine what the boy and dog are looking at.
The paintings chosen for the book are ones that would appeal to children. There are pictures of elephants, dogs, cows, monkeys, children, and even ice cream. The paintings range in styles from Rembrandt and Van Gogh to Andy Warhol and William Wegman.
Ideas for parents to enhance art appreciation and creation in their children’s lives is included. The author, Julie Aigner-Clark introduces the book with the exhortation that art is important, that it records history without the barriers of language.
This isn’t a book to read quickly, but one to browse and discuss and enjoy. Even older children will enjoy the art and some of the more advanced thinking skill questions.
Also See:
Watching Baby Einstein Does Not an Einstein Make
Baby Shakespeare: World of Poetry