November 1, 2008
Gr 2-4-These books are well organized, with clearly written sections on Tools of the Trade, 'Basic Elements, Composition, and Techniques, and several clever projects and exercises to practice putting all of these elements together. A Whats Next section explains how to care for the finished projects. The pages are crowded, and the font used is quite small. There is also repetition of text that is not always appropriate from one book to the other. For example, the section on Composition in "Drawing" is identical to that in "Collage", but none of the examples use collage technique. Otherwise these titles should have substantial child appeal.
Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
October 15, 2008
Grades 2-5 With its small, square trim size, this encouraging introduction to collage art seems targeted to very young children, but the texts depth and the projects universal appeal are best suited to an older audience of middle-grade students. Hanson offers a quick introduction to basic art and design concepts, as well as a page about the history of collage art, before moving into detailed, practical information: basic collage materials and techniques, followed by spreads devoted to individual projects, explained in step-by-step instructions illustrated with small, inset color photos. Students will appreciate the projects wide range of styles and technical challenges, from a pop-up birthday card to an elaborate collage of monsters in battle. Tips for caring for completed projects and a glossary and index close this title in the Cool Art series that sends an inspiring message to young people: You dont need to be good at art now to become a great artist. You just need the desire to learn and become better!(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)
January 1, 2009
This compact book introduces sophisticated aspects of the visual arts (line, value, positive and negative space) and discusses specific collage techniques. Six nicely varied projects (some steps are illustrated) give young artists the opportunity to practice. A useful "tools of the trade" spread shows different media, and a final page encourages kids to preserve their collages and to keep experimenting. Glos., ind.
(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)