Van Gogh for Kids [$9.75/£4.99-Paperback]
ABOUT 'SMART READS for Kids'..."Love Art, Love Learning"Welcome. Designed to expand and inspire young minds; this is a range of short educational books (with supporting free online resources) for ages 7+. Although one great artist's life and work are always the central theme, wider learning is encouraged as follows:
* Geography & History. Locations or events mentioned are always accompanied by a colourful map or a snippet of history so that the opportunity to learn some general knowledge does not pass the young reader by.
* Vocabulary. A manageable number of new words are introduced and reused. They are always in bold with clear definitions and pronunciations. There is also a Glossary.
* Maths. At least one maths statement and its accompanying calculation is always included.
* Concentration. Each book is in the friendly first person and a trail of footprints always leads to a cartoon animal at the end. The author asks questions of the reader and there is always a quiz. These features keep children engaged and encourage them to form their own opinions. There is a high ratio of images to text.Â
ABOUT JUNIOR VINCENT VAN GOGH
An introduction to van Gogh's life and much-loved colourful paintings culminating in a bit of art detective work for fun. Â As well as the usual child friendly map and new vocabulary this book also tackles the social issues of poverty and mental health.
Watch out for squirrels!
DETAILS:
Locations Mapped: The Netherlands, The Dutch Brabant, Belgium, Antwerp, France and Paris.
Paintings: 16 in total including: Sunflowers, The Starry Night, Wheat Field with Cypresses, The Church at Auvers, Irises, Noon Rest From Work, The Yellow House, The Night Café, The Potato Eaters and two self-portraits.
Vocabulary Defined: Inspired, Passionate, Mental illness, Expressionism, Dutch, Peasants, Romantic, Sympathy, Realism, Professional, Palette, Complementary, Succession and Ironic.
New Artists Introduced: Rembrandt van Rijn and Paul Gauguin.
Online Resources:Â
-Printable van Gogh colouring sheets and a selection of crosswords for fun or revision can be found on the 'SMART READS for Kids' web pages at theportraitplace.co.uk.Â
-For teachers there is also a colour slide show of all the book's images. This paperback was unfortunately published before the slide show was set up so the password isn't in it. However, feel free to e-mail me, giving me the answer to the first question of the quiz, and I'll reply with the access details. My e-mail is fionam_holt@yahoo.co.uk. [A test slide show is also available to try before you buy. Visit theportraitplace.co.uk and select 'Hardware Solutions' in the 'SMART READS for Kids' dropdown menu.]
Words: 2200.
OTHER BOOKS FROM 'SMART READS FOR KIDS'
'Junior Leonardo da Vinci'
'SMART READS for Kids' adventure story "What do you do in a Drawing Room?"' [Kindle only]
'Learn 20 French Words with Junior Claude Monet' [Kindle only]
'Junior Edgar Degas' [Kindle only]
REVIEWS OF BOOKS IN THIS SERIES
"Love, love, love this book! Great addition to our homeschool art books. I hope this becomes a series of books, would love to get more!"-Customer, Iowa
"I wanted to do some painting myself after I read this book, I've learnt so much"-Customer, UK
"This story was fabulous. Our son couldn't stop reading it."-Customer, Canada
