I bought The School of Art last December for Anya as she is interested in creating.  She recently picked it up which is what reminded me of what a great book this is.  Since she’s picked it up, she hasn’t been able to put it down.  If you’re interested in a tool for teaching art to children or you just have kids who love art, I haven’t come across anything better than this book.

The School of Art has 40 simple art lessons to help you understand and create art.  The lessons are all explained really well and helps you think about the different concepts like colour mixing, shading, how to show direction and movement, how you can recycle your rubbish to create art and so much more.  All the lessons are shared by 4 professors who are each good at different areas of art.   And each lesson ends with a suggested activity so that you can try out that particular art concept.  Beyond the art lessons, the illustrations are so beautiful and playfully presented, making them so engaging.  They really bring the art ideas to life and make you want to pick up a pencil and paper and start creating.

I think 7+ is the age at which kids will really enjoy The School of Art but I don’t think there is any upper age limit. A friend of mine recently gave this book to her 11 year old who had to create a huge art portfolio and her daughter found it so useful.  I have learned some interesting art ideas from this book and so has Richard who likes to do a bit of painting in his spare time.  The school of Art is also ideal for teaching art to children who may be younger but interested while the older ones will just have fun working their way through this book by themselves.

Anya has been practicing things like adding movement to her drawings and she’s also loving the lesson on shading and texture. There are lots of ideas to explore and some are a little advanced for her 7 years but that’s part of the beauty of this book – it will grow with her as her art skills develop.  This is a great art book to have on your shelves and pull out at any stage and any age when you’re in the mood to create or draw.

My UK readers can find the book here and my US readers here.