Nonfiction Monday: 3-D ABC A Sculptural Alphabet

I cannot resist a great art book, and Bob Raczka’s 3-D ABC: A Sculptural Alphabet is certainly great. The book is an ABC book, and for every letter of the alphabet there’s a photograph of a groovy sculpture inspired by or connected to that letter. The photography really pops, the text is simple and reads well aloud, and you can tell that the sculptures were selected for real “wow” factor for readers. (Just check out that cover image: Spoonbridge and Cherry. Cool). It shouldn’t be any surprise that Raczka has come up with a winner here, as he is the mastermind behind other great art books for kids such as No One Saw: Ordinary things through the eyes of an Artist (a brilliant book for all art teachers), Art is, and Unlikely Pairs. I want them all!

I really like the fact that Raczka focuses on how everyone experiences sculptures (and by extension, art) differently. It’s a personal experience that should be enchanting and inspiring. He writes: “A sculpture can mean different things to different people, or it can mean different things to the same person on different days.”

This one is made for teachers, and for any art-loving family. Just the book to inspire closer attention to the beauty of sculptures in galleries and outdoor spaces.

Art book Addict

I’m sure it’s obvious by now that I am kids’ book crazy. Within this larger addiction, one particular love of mine is art books – books about artists, art theft, making art, teaching art. I love them all.

For any art book afficiando, Joyce Raimondo’s series of books that focuses on different artistic schools/periods is impossible to resist. These books form a tidy little collection full of gems for teachers (and parents) who want to give kids an accessible and fun entry point to some of art’s biggest thinkers. Voila:

    

I’ve tried a bunch of Raimondo’s lessons and they are kid friendly and inspiring. Most recently, I modified an idea from the Surrealism book and my students created Surreal rooms. It became clear pretty fast that 9 year olds “get” surrealism because many of them already see the crazy in the world around them without having to look for it.

Visit Joyce Raimondo’s website and the MoMa’s Art Safari site (Raimondo’s project), for more to inspire.  Raimondo’s books are published by Watson-Guptill.