What's New

Art 4 for Young Catholics

Book cover: 'Art 4 for Young Catholics'
Author(s): 
Reed & Roxolana Armstrong
Mary Rakow

What could be better than a well-planned and well-organized Catholic art textbook written by internationally-known Catholic artists who are also art historians and professors? This is the textbook! From the introduction by the authors: "The rules used here have been the time-tested tools used by artists for centuries and are based on natural law and common sense. Once acquired, these skills are not only transferable to other disciplines but also foster genuine appreciation and discernment in the field of art and of beauty in creation."

Leonardo da Vinci for Kids: His Life and Ideas

Book cover: 'Leonardo da Vinci for Kids: His Life and Ideas'
Author(s): 
Janis Herbert

Leonardo da Vinci for Kids is a fascinating biography of a fascinating man with plenty of material to keep children and adults interested and amazed. The story details da Vinci's life, works, ideas and interests. His artistic and scientific creations and inventions cover an incredibly broad field - from his famous paintings to complex defense mechanisms for cities under siege to mechanical "creatures" to complex and artistically creative parties for important people of his day.

Brother Joseph: The Painter of Icons

Book cover: 'Brother Joseph: The Painter of Icons'
Author(s): 
Fr. Augustine DeNoble, O.S.B.

Tom was an ordinary boy who loved being outdoors and drawing whatever he saw. Although Tom found school distasteful, his teacher, Sister Aquinas, saw artistic talent in him and encouraged him and lent him books on religious art. He discovered that his favorite artist was Fra Angelico. He attended a high school seminary and discovered that he wanted to be a monk. There he becomes Brother Joseph and finds that his artistic talents are put to good use.

A Child's Book of Lullabies

Book cover: 'A Child's Book of Lullabies'

This is a songbook of lullabies illustrated with paintings of mothers and babies by American artist Mary Cassatt. The songs are mostly classics such as Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Now the Day is Over, but you'll also find Cum By Yah. Mary Cassatt was an impressionist from the 19th century and her paintings include lots of baby bottoms and nursing mothers. They are all very sweet, but not necessarily everyone's style. It is sold by Dorling Kindersley with a tape of the lullabies.

A Child's Book of Prayer in Art

Book cover: 'A Child's Book of Prayer in Art'
Author(s): 
Sister Wendy Beckett

This book is designed to help your child discover the lessons present in many fine works of art. The inside cover explains "In this, her first book for children, Sister Wendy has selected paintings that can speak to children, illustrating the important values of life, such as love, respect and forgiveness.

Art Fraud Detective: Spot the Difference, Solve the Crime!

Book cover: 'Art Fraud Detective: Spot the Difference, Solve the Crime!'
Author(s): 
Anna Nilsen

This is an exciting and fun art supplement that kids are sure to love (makes a great gift for Christmas or a birthday). There are three main parts to the book. First is an introduction which explains a problem the art museum is having with forgeries. Several gangs of artists have copied original works, but made very slight changes to them. The object of the book is to identify who is responsible for the various forgeries by looking carefully for very specific clues.

Railroad RushHour: Train Escape Game

Book cover: 'Railroad RushHour: Train Escape Game'

I can hardly say enough good things about this fun and thought-provoking game (which a good friend gave to my son for his birthday a few days ago). Each of the 50 playing cards presents a puzzle scenario which you set up on the gameboard with the train pieces. The object is to move the pieces around until you can get the red locomotive off the board. The puzzle scenarios gradually increase in difficulty, but all of them are fun and challenging (even for parents!).