Look! Body Language in Art

This informative, interactive book introduces children to the practice of observing gestures and poses represented in great works from Van Gogh to Picasso to Pop Art. Gillian Wolfe, who has published several art books for children, invites young viewers to look up, down, outside, inside, close up, and all around 18 different paintings. Questions and activities on each page encourage focused contemplation. For example, "Look Behind" features two paintings, Crespi's The Scullery Maid and Hogarth's The Graham Children. For the former, the book asks, "What do you think will happen next?" and for the latter, "How would their lives have been different?" Works from the Renaissance to the present day are represented, and subjects include trapeze artists, clowns, trains, animals, and children. Biographical information about the artists and where to view the original paintings is included.