I Spy: An Alphabet in Art (Mulberry Paperback Book)

I had this book as a child and rebought it as an adult. It made me super nostalgic to looking through it as a kid. Some of the 'I Spy' things are kind of hard to identify, especially for kids, but don't let that stop you. It's a unique sort of book and a good way to introduce kids to different types of art.

Lucy Micklethwait is a thoughtful children's book creator. When her daughter was small, Lucy would sit with her and look at art books. They would talk about each item in the painting. While they may not have discussed the meaning, the first step in developing art appreciation and understanding is art awareness. What better way to teach a child awareness than literally let the child point out items in the painting?Even though I am now a children's librarian bringing this book to you, in another life time I was a high school teacher. One course I taught was a kind of art appreciation. The first activity I did was post a dozen famous prints across the board, then ask students to pick their favorite and write why and least favorite and say why. Examining a painting without knowing a thing about it is the first step in art awareness.In "I Spy" there are 26 famous paintings. The one on the cover is "Son of Man" by Rene Magritte (a man). The words on the left page inside the book say: "I spy with my little eye something beginning with Aa." On the right side is the painting.Here is a sampling of other included paintings: Picasso's "Sitting Woman with a Fish Hat" (let their little imagination roam with this one!), Goya's "Don Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuniga," Matisse's "Interior with Etruscan Vase," Renoir's "Umbrellas," and Hockney's "A Bigger Splash."What a wonderful way to reinforce the alphabet, introduce the child to masterpieces of art, show cultural and time differences in clothing, style, and customs. Perhaps at some point you could locate a book in the library which has those paintings. Take one at a time to discuss meaning, technique, painter.Ms Micklethwait has several other books to consider: Colors: A First Art Book I Spy Two Eyes: Numbers in Art Child's Book of Art: Discover Great Paintings, A Animals: A First Art Book

This book came in excellent condition, clean, carefully packaged and most lovely. There was a totally unexpected freebie book that accompanied, also a worthwhile read for the grandchildren. We are totally impressed!

We bought this for my daughter who is under 2. Obviously she doesn't do well with words like "yacht" but for the most part she is able to find the objects, which are pretty normal for more common letters ("apple" and "fish"). I appreciate the global range of the art. I accidentally bought two copies and the other one ended up being given to my grandmother who has Alzheimer's and is somewhere between stages 5 and 6; apparently she really enjoys looking for the objects and admiring the beautiful art, too!

I enjoy buying abecedarians which will grow with the children. The "I Spy" element in this book is not as fun and useful as I had hoped. Each painting has only 1 "official" thing to look for, and as a child grows, the fun of already knowing the location of the apple wears off. I appreciate the limitation which Micklethwait was working with - I can't imagine trying to locate a a gorgeous, high-quality pre-existing artwork with *multiple* items beginning with A, with B, with Q (!). I still think it's a good book. The reproductions are truly, truly gorgeous and represent a wealth of artists and art movements. A wonderful imaginative book, especially for rainy days and car rides.

Great gift for kids - fun for all ages - great gift for kids of artsy parents - wonderful paintings featured

This is not at all like the other books in the I Spy series - and at first I did not like it because of it. The other books have pages filled with tons of things, and you pick out certain items in the poem. This has a series of famous art pieces, and the thing to look for is very obvious... so from a "spy" standpoint it is not the greatest. BUT I do like that it is exposing our young children (5 and 3) to famous works of art. We have tried to make it more difficult by finding different things to seek out in each famous painting. Still, I don't know that I would totally recommend unless you really wanted to expose your children to famous art - your child would likely find a book from the regular "I SPY" series more entertaining.

I like the use of classic art. The illustrations are well done. Some if the pictures have more than 1 image to find. I think it is fun the first couple times, but not something kids will want to look as over and over. There really isn't a story to keep them engaged either. My other concern is the that binding and pages of this book will not hold up for the age group in which this book is useful. It is too simplistic for older children, but too longer for younger children, so I am not certain who the target audience is.

We love being able to use original art to learn the alphabet

This is a beautiful book and is far more interesting than the usual abc books. Also an excellent introduction to art.

i love these books and so does my son and its a fun way of introducing my son to culture. really great. thanks

good