Camille and the Sunflowers.

Laurence Anholt. Happauge, NY: Barron's, 1994. Unpaged, $13.95.

The books just mentioned are examples of works that present the facts as recorded in reproductions and set in some real context. But, there are also storytellers who are moved to interpret biographies in more fictional ways. Camille and the Sunflowers is a reasonable account of van Gogh's stay in the south of France as perceived by a young boy who sat for a portrait. The watercolor scenes arc combined with reproductions in an imaginative manner that makes the artist's paintings most appealing.

The creators of The Princess and the Peacocks start with an exotic portrait of the princess, add a collection of Chinese porcelains in delicate shelves, and mix them together with an egotistical artist's imagination. The result is Whistler's Peacock Room, probably the most strikingly conceived dining room in the modern Western world. The watercolor illustrations capture Whistler's vitality and his eccentric personality while remaining true to the look of that room. Concluding photographs show it in its current restored condition in the Freer Gallery in Washington, DC.

These eight books are fine examples of resources available to librarians and teachers who want to encourage young children to read about the history of art.