Guardians of Being

This wonderfully unique collaboration brings together two masters of their fields, joining original words by spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle with delightful illustrations by Patrick McDonnell, the creator of the acclaimed comic strip MUTTS. Every heartwarming page provokes thought, insight, and smiling reverence for all beings and each moment.
More than a collection of witty and charming drawings, the marriage of Patrick McDonnell's art and Eckhart Tolle's words conveys a profound love of nature, of animals, of humans, of all life-forms. Guardians of Being celebrates and reminds us of not only the oneness of all life but also the wonder and joy to be found in the present moment, amid the beauty we sometimes forget to notice all around us.

Holes & Squiggles

You’ve never seen a coloring book like this! Instead of coloring in the lines, you color inside the holes. Turn the page and like magic, flowers become butterflies, hats become cars, trees become tents, helicopters become balloons, and more!

Luke on the Loose

Luke looks on at the pigeons in Central Park, while Dad is lost in “boring Daddy talk,” and before you know it—LUKE IS ON THE LOOSE! He’s free as a bird, on a hilarious solo flight through New York City.

Harry Bliss, the renowned illustrator of many bestselling children’s books, finally goes on a solo flight on his own with a soaring story that will delight any young reader who has ever felt cooped up.

Comic Book style illustration.

Steady Hands: Poems about Work

Starred Review. Inventive, complicated collages and well-crafted poems focus on the activities of working people in this eye-catching book. With an observant eye, Zimmer (Sketches from a Spy Tree) captures different individuals performing work with steady hands. She details the flap/ roll/ flap of the baker kneading dough or the way a clerk performs a ballet/ of hands as she sorts, scans and bags groceries. Sometimes she gives the worker a backstory or views him after hours—a former lawyer prefers the predictable company of dogs and becomes a dog walker, while the exterminator doesn't mind the guys at the bowling alley calling him Roach. Halsey and Addy's (Amelia to Zora) hip collages combine individual cut-outs of people along with drawings, photos, textured backgrounds and designs. The aspiring filmmaker pops out of a box of movie popcorn while the tow-truck driver fishes in the city, literally reeling in cars. The sophisticated look should generate plenty of interest from the target audience. Ages 9–12.

Birds

Birds come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. Birds are magic. Birds are everywhere. If you listen very carefully you will hear them, no matter where you live. And if you look very closely you will see them, no matter where you are. And if you can't go outside right this minute, you can always read this book!
Written by Kevin Henkes, illustrated by Laura Dronzek

All About Faces

Is there any part of the body that fascinates children as much as the face? A face can frown or cry, show happiness and show anger. In this remarkable new book with simple words and delightful pictures, the face, with its many parts, is explained in terms and concepts young minds can grasp.
By La Zoo 

Art and Creative Development for young Children

Art and Creative Development for young Children, 5E, written for early childhood professionals and those preparing to work with children in child care, preschool, or a Kindergarten through third grade setting, is a comprehensive, must-have resource for setting up a developmentally appropriate art program. This updated text takes a child-centered approach to art education. It covers the important issues of creative experience, art and the developing child, special needs and diversity, children’s artistic development, planning, developing, implementing and evaluating art, integrating art across the curriculum, roles and strategies that facilitate children’s artistic expression, evaluation and assessment.
BY Robert Schirrmacher, Ph.D and Jill Englebright Fox

Drawing with Children

Since the publication of the best-selling first edition of Drawing with Children in 1986, Monart Drawing Schools have expanded all over the country. Teachers are eager for the chance to learn the Monart Drawing Method, a practical, field-tested technique that assumes no prior knowledge of art or special talent. Mona developed the Monart Drawing Method after she observed what she felt was a state of visual illiteracy among children. She was shocked that even very young children were suffering from competitive and judgmental attitudes to the point of being unwilling to try, for fear of failure. Although she recognized the need for the symbolic representations that all children draw naturally, she noted that they did not know where to begin to draw the realistic illustrations they yearned to create. From this grew the Monart Drawing Method, which features a noncompetitive environment where children are free to explore independent expression while simultaneously learning how to observe all visual data through five basic elements of shape. The Method has instilled a sense of pride among the thousands of students who have overcome the "I can't draw" mindset and learned to create remarkable artwork. This latest edition of Drawing with Children includes a new sixteen-page full-color insert, hundreds of new illustrations, and two additional chapters explaining how to reach children with learning problems and how to incorporate drawing into teaching the basic subjects in an integrated school curriculum.
BY MONA BROOKES

The Private Eye: Thinking by Analogy

This lively introduction to The Private Eye program will propel you, your students and colleagues into the drama and wonder of looking closely at the world, thinking by analogy, changing scale and theorizing.  Designed to develop higher order thinking skills, creativity, literacy and scientific literacy — The Private Eye's "simple" tools produce "gifted" results. You'll use everyday objects, a jeweler's loupe, and simple questions to accelerate and magnify thought, whether you're working in science, writing, art, math, social studies, invention or even humor.
 
You'll discover how The Private Eye builds habits of close observation and inquiry across subjects. You'll learn how the loupe (a magnification tool with a simple but amazing difference) along with three powerful questions can transform the curriculum. You'll see examples of student writing, drawing and theorizing as you tour the process — with over 200 lesson plans, ideas and ticklers to enrich the five core disciplines. The Private Eye process builds communication, problem solving, and concentration skills as it develops "the interdisciplinary mind."


By Kerry Ruef.

Color Dance

The girl in red, the girl in yellow, the girl in blue, and the boy in black and white are all set to stir up the rainbow. Watch them create a living kaleidoscope, step by step by step.
By Ann Jonas

This book introduces color mixing and shading and uses more detailed colored names like magenta and chartreuse. I have it placed on the light table with overlapping colored paper.

Best Book of Bugs

The Best Book of Bugs looks at the life cycles, habitats, and amazing diversity of insects and spiders in stunning close-up detail. This book has everything a young etymologist would ever want to know.
By Claire Llewellyn
Others in the Best Book of series: Mummies, sharks, whales, snakes, moon, big cats...


The children love finding bugs in this book. It's majority illustrations but there are captions and interesting facts. I have it set up in a display with bugs encased in lucite.

The story goes on

In this exquisitely illustrated picture book, one of America's foremost poets for young people describes the ongoing cycle of life. A seed sprouts and is quickly devoured by a bug. Then a bright green frog appears and makes a meal of the bug. And the story goes on...from bug to snake to hawk to hunter...until a seed begins to sprout. This wonderful poem deftly deals with a sensitive subject and is inventively illustrated by a prodigiously talented young artist.

City animals

This follow-up to Simms Taback's Safari Animals presents six city animals in a guessing-game format: a pigeon, a police horse, a squirrel, a dog, a cat, a swan—all poster-size illustrations in Taback's one-of-a-kind style.

The rest is up to you

Like many kids, third grader Cohen Morano likes to watercolor. What's different about Cohen's paintings is that his father, Aye Jay, sends them out into the world to be embellished and altered by a stellar roster of artists and illustrators. The resulting collaborations between Cohen and a host of hip partners—including Gary Baseman, Shepard Fairey, Paul Frank, Barry McGee, Chris Ware, and Mark Ryden—form a striking and playful body of work. The Rest Is Up To You conveys a sincere message about the importance of making art with children. Families and art buffs alike will be inspired by what Cohen and his heroes have created.

Sara's Kitchen

From the creator of Colors and Numbers, Fruit and Vegetables, comes Sara's Kitchen, a full-length picture book bursting with the smells, sounds, and shapes of a busy kitchen preparing for a sumptuous meal. Crammed with colors and tastes that spill out of the book in glorious gatefolds, Sara's stunning graphic images combine with a high-energy text that weaves jazz-inspired riffs of pasta shapes, staccato bursts of chopping and cutting, and a lyrical, melodious savoring of complex flavors. Sara's kitchen is a delicious place to be!
By Sara Anderson

See also: Vegetables

C is for Construction: Big Trucks and Diggers from A to Z

Exciting photographs are paired with cool facts and simple explanations in this earthmoving ABC. Kids love trucks and diggers and this alphabet book has all their favorites, from the speedy skid steer loader to the giant 797 off-highway truck (one of the biggest trucks in the world!). Seeing real Cat machines at work, digging, hauling, dumping, and lifting, puts young readers right there on the construction site in the middle of the action.

Ton

One man lifts a 50-pound girder. A forklift moves a 1-ton load. A wheelbarrow, a crane, a truck, a train all transport increasingly heavy objects as Taro Miura's deceptively simple book unfolds. Children will delight in the arresting images of workmen and their equipment. And as the weight increases so will their undertanding of how we measure it. A dramatic gatefold spread and a brief explanation of different systems of measurement complete the picture as this unique book makes learning about weight absolutely effortless.
By Taro Miura

See also: Tools

Series: Mini Masters

Four beautiful board books from the best-selling Mini Masters series, all packed in a colorful box. The set includes: Dancing with Degas, A Picnic with Monet, A Magical Day with Matisse, andIn the Garden with Van Gogh.
By Julie Merberg and Suzanne Bober

Matisse Dance for Joy

Here in the latest addition to our contemporary art board-book series, Henri Matisse's exuberant cut-paper art leaps off the page, accompanied by simple, lyrical text sure to delight the very young.
By Susan Goldman Rubin

Counting with Wayne Thiebaud

Counting to 10 has never been so sweet! Wayne Thiebaud's delectable paintings, etchings, and drawings make Counting with Wayne Thiebaud as much an introduction to contemporary art as it is a delicious first book of numbers.
By Susan Goldman Rubin

Big, bigger, biggest book

Big, bold illustrations introduce young readers to adjectives like big, bigger, and biggest; far, farther, and farthest; high, higher, and highest. The brightly colored fold-out illustrations make each concept easy to understand: by unfolding the page, you can see a tall building get even taller, then become the tallest one in the whole city! Kids who loved SAMi's Flip-a-Face and Flip-a-Shape books as babies are sure to be drawn to this new title.
By SAMi

Publisher: Blue Apple Books

Blue Apple

Lines that wiggle

Follow the glittery line that runs through this picture book and turns itself into all kinds of things: the waves above an octopus, the veins in a leaf, the wrappings curling around a mummy, and the trapping threads of a spiderweb. Candace Whitman's catchy rhyming text is brought to life by a host of creepy critters from first-time illustrator Steve Wilson.

Artist: Dwell Studio

Dwell Studio Children's Books

Seen Art?

Seen Art?, the latest book by The New York Times best-selling duo, takes a young boy on an adventure through The Museum of Modern Art's renowned collection of modern and contemporary art as he searches for his friend, Art. Witty text and lavish illustrations introduce children to iconic works of art by Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Andy Warhol, and others. Ages 9 and up.
By Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith

I Spy Shapes in Art

Each of the fourteen magnificent paintings in this book contains a different shape for you to find. Some are easy to spot, and others are more challenging. But take a closer look—after you think you've found them all, there are even more shapes to look at and discover.

I Spy Shapes in Art features a remarkable variety of artists from around the world, including Georgia O'Keeffe, Henri Matisse, and M.C. Escher. This picture book pairs a classic game with timeless art, making it the perfect way to introduce fine art to children.
By Lucy Micklethwait
 

Art

Patrick McDonnell's "Art" introduces children to the imaginative world of art and the endless opportunities it holds. Sure to captivate the minds and warm the hearts of children and adults alike, "Art" shows readers that a picture really can be worth a thousand words.
By Patrick McDonnell

Andy Warhol's Colors

In Andy Warhol's imagination, horses are purple and golden monkeys wear pink baubles on their tails. Through this fun board book, young children can learn their colors as they discover that in modern art, anything is possible.
By Susan Goldman Rubin

123 NYC

Using famous landmarks and exciting new places that readers will want to seek out when visiting, children learn to count from 1 to 20. Including a comprehensive location list, "123 NYC" inspires readers to look closely at the world around them and to see their own special landscape in a new way, all while celebrating the culturally diverse city of New York and all the children who inhabit it.
By Joanne Dugan

We need one for Cincinnati!

600 Black Spots

600 Black Spots, is a clever scavenger hunt pop-up book for children of all ages. Readers can spend countless hours of fun searching for the black spots throughout the pages—but be careful! Tricks and surprises abound in this endlessly entertaining, keep-your-on-the-spot book!

See also:
One Red Dot: A Pop-Up Book for Children of All Ages 
Blue 2: Pop-Up Book for Children of All Ages (HC)

MoMA Art Basics for Kids

The author created these books on modern art to help very young people learn the basic vocabulary used by artists, a sort of ABC of art. Parents and teachers play a key role in this learning process by encouraging careful, thoughtful looking.
In Shapes Yenawine asks questions like, "Can you find buildings? And roofs?" while looking at a Picasso study. Other Shapes artists include Seurat, Gauguin, Malevich, Mondrian, Arp, Klee, Smith and Dali. Places includes 21 artworks by artists such as Hopper, Munch, Klimt, and Bonnard, while People highlights works by Balthus, Degas, Freud, Cezanne, Neel and Rivera. And Lines features 16 works by van Gogh, Matisse, Pollock, Morandi, O'Keeffe and others. Each volume comes with an illustrated summary of artworks.
By Philip Yenawine

The Art Book for Children

Like its popular coffee-table counterpart for adults, this is an eclectic, engaging introduction to art history. With numerous questions that encourage children to think about art without imposing answers or limiting interpretations, the author subtly introduces artistic concepts and critical thinking. The handsome design includes numerous full-page reproductions as well as details illustrating particular points.
(from MoMA and Phaidon)

Artist Coloring Books

Big art for little hands, these enchanting activity books allow young artists to explore the world's masterpieces on their own terms and with plenty of space to color outside the lines.
(from MoMA)

Store: MoMA Games & Kids

MoMA Kids

Around the World with Mouk

Filled with vibrant illustrations, search-and-find challenges, and 46 reusable stickers, this oversized book is a spectacular play space for future world travelers. And Mouk is the perfect tour guide! His journey takes him all around the world, and at every stop along the way his animal friends share fascinating tidbits about local customs. Young adventure-seekers will be amazed and amused by something new with every reading.
By Marc Boutavant

Bus Stops

This simple story, following a bus on its daily route, encourages children to find a variety of objects in the illustrations. Bursting with color, Taro Gomi transforms an everyday event into a joyous journey from start to finish.

Play all day

Taro Gomi invites children to punch out more than 60 fantastic playthings, including ring-toss games, finger puppets, boxes, picture frames, a zoo's worth of animals, and more! Packed with Gomi's fun, accessible artwork and a delightful variety of games and toys, this book will appeal to children of all ages, engaging their imaginations and entertaining them all day long.

Play all day

Play All Day documents a collection of the most vibrant, stimulating and engaging design products and concepts for children. This book sets a new standard of design for children with fascinating examples of innovative and well-designed toys, playgrounds and play environments, room decorations, wall coverings, furniture and kindergarten architecture. In addition to these products, it also presents illustration and photography as well as new and original ideas offering playful solutions that talented designers and creative parents are designing for and with their kids. It is an inspiring reference for design-savvy parents and other professionals.

The lonely phone booth

This is the story of one of the last remaining phone booths in New York City, the Phone Booth on the corner of West End Avenue and 100th. Everyone used it — from ballerinas and girl scouts, zookeepers and birthday clowns, to cellists and even secret agents! The Phone Booth was so beloved that people would sometimes wait in line to use it. Kept clean and polished, the Phone Booth was proud and happy . . . until, the day a businessman strode by and shouted into a shiny silver object, "I'll be there in ten minutes!" Soon everyone was talking into these shiny silver things, and the Phone Booth stood alone and empty, unused and dejected.

With his delightful, witty, and boldly colored illustrations that evoke Miroslav Sasek's mid-century modern aesthetic, Max Dalton simply and elegantly captures the energy and diversity of New York City and its inhabitants. A beauty to behold and a pleasure to read, The Lonely Phone Booth is sure to be a favorite among children and parents alike, and the real Phone Booth, which is still standing at West End Avenue and 100th Street, is worth a field trip!

Blog: Vintage Books My Kids Love

http://www.vintagechildrensbooksmykidloves.com/

Kidmade modern

Designer Todd Oldham shares his love and admiration of mid-century design ideas and translates them into creative, colorful, and thoughtful projects for kids. From a cardboard box fort inspired by architect Luis Barragn to window decorations made from painted paper inspired by designer
Russell Wright, these projects are sure to delight kids and adults alike.
One part design primer and two parts handmade fun, Kid Made Modern
introduces kids to mid-century design heroes with 52 playful, simple-to-make
craft projects. This delightful book features inexpensive, often recycled, and easily accessible materials with clear photography and easy-to-follow steps.
The list of design icons featured here include Alexander Calder, Charles + Ray Eames, Alexander Girard, Jack Lenor Larsen, Alvin Lustig, George Nelson,
Isamu Noguchi, Verner Panton, Paul Rand, Mary + Russel Wright, and many more!
This creative and educational book is the perfect gift for young budding artists.

Alternative ABCs

This alternative ABC board book features original, colorful, and graphic illustrations and typography by Southern California based designers Eric Ruffing and Dave Parmley of 13THFLOOR.

In this humorous and hipster take on a traditional ABC board book for kids, the alphabet here reads: F is for Flames, M is for Mohawk, P is for Peace, and S is for Skull. This is the board book that Soccer Moms run from and Rocker Moms gravitate to.

Aesthetically borrowing from street, surf, skate, and music subcultures, the custom design and typography beautifully spell out this unique alphabet. From Calligraffiti to Pin-Striping, and from Goth to Punk, this little book crosses genres and is sure to create a buzz.

Popville

“Popville is a sweet, slender little pop-up book that illustrates the growth of a town from a single farmhouse to a thriving city in a series of stylized scenes that build, one upon the next, through a window cut out of the center of the page, so that each development literally overlays the ones beneath. My toddler has fallen in love with the book and its additive scenes, and the grownups I’ve shown it to finds it equally fascinating. The cutaway in the book’s center is a genuinely clever bit of business that creates a sense of time’s passage, and the climax (with a pair of foldouts on the sides of the pages) is filled with little gracenotes, like the bits of string that form the electric cables.”

It's a book

Playful and lighthearted with a subversive twist that is signature Lane Smith, IT’S A BOOK is a delightful manifesto on behalf of print in the digital age. This satisfying, perfectly executed picture book has something to say to readers of all stripes and all ages.

Shadow

A dark attic. A light bulb. An imaginative little girl. Internationally acclaimed artist Suzy Lee uses these simple elements to create a visual tour de force that perfectly captures the joy of creative play and celebrates the power of imagination. Stunning in their simplicity, Lee's illustrations, in just two shades of color, present an adventure that begins and ends with the click of a light bulb.

Lots of Spots

Lois Ehlert is at her Ogden-Nashian best in this lively collection of poems about animal camouflage and adornment. Birds and beasts from all walks of the animal kingdom are gathered here, beautifully illustrated in Lois's signature bold and bright collage style. Complete with an Author's Note about the how-and-why of animal spots-and-stripes.