The author encourages children to look carefully at the art, ask questions about its contents, and be curious about who created it and when. Pictures are grouped by themes, such as "Mother and Child" and "Faces, " and proceed to more abstract concepts, such as "Light, " "Patterns, " and "Shapes." Superb, full-color reproductions of art by traditional artists -- like Mary Cassatt's "The Bath" and William Turner's "The Fighting Temeraire" -- alternate with works from modern artists including Picasso, Fernand Leger, Klee, Henry Moore, and Giacometti. The selections range from Native American and Maori to Indian and Iraqi paintings and sculptures.

For every theme there is an Art Activity that demonstrates to the young reader ways in which the idea and concepts presented in the book can be applied to his or her own drawings. This special gift book will provide gentle, entertaining guidance to talented, artistically inclined children.