Barbe-Gall, Francoise. How to talk to children about art.

BARBE-GALL, Francoise. How to talk to children about art. Chicago Review Press, dist. by Independent Publishers Group. 182p. illus. c2005. 1-55652-580-X. $16.95. J

This book takes a great idea and executes it effectively. The title says what the goal is, and after some introductory notes on basic approaches to take with different age groups (5-7, 8-10, 11-13) and genres (portraits, landscapes, etc.), the core of the book is a chronological examination of 30 works of art through questions (or statements demanding a response) and answers. Each piece of art gets four pages; a print of the work starts on the left, and then an easy-to-follow (bold print questions, plenty of white space between items) Q&A series, different for each work, follows. The method makes learning easy; the questions are wonderfully playful and the answers simple but never simplistic. Barbe-Gall knows her stuff and has a real understanding of children's minds. A few sample questions about a work by Chagall: Why doesn't the man have arms? Why does the furniture look like it's falling over? Just these two examples suggest how quickly and effectively the book pulls readers (and not just 5-13-year-olds!) into the work. Excellent both for students and teachers. Daniel Levinson, Teacher, Thayer Acad., Braintree, MA

J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers.