Rosie Dickins
Mari Griffin

Usborne puts out many quality books for children and this book is no exception. The Introduction to Art describes the history of western painting from ancient Egyptian tomb decorations to modern art. It begins by defining art and gives a brief lesson on how to view art including catagorizing art into four areas: historical/religious, portraits, landscapes, and emotions. The majority of the book examines the five major movements of western art and includes over 160 of the world's greatest pieces.

REVIEW
We enjoyed this book for both its clear and informative content as well as for its lovely illustrations. I found it was a great way to get kids interested in art and art history partly because they could get such a close view of the beauty of these classic works. The book is detailed enough to educate many adults in the many aspects of art history but formatted so that even a young child can enjoy the pictures and learn a bit of art history along the way.