Literature in Art Books

A beautifully bright book, each page displaying an original Oaxacan Woodcarving by the Jimenez family in Mexico. The whole family works through the entire process of completing each individual piece and the outcome are incredible, stylized, creatures that kids will not keep their eyes off! Every page consists of a picture of one of these Oaxacan animals, and a different letter of the alphabet. The craftsmanship would not be better, and the book itself is made with extremely high quality. Turning the pages it is so easy to see that every creature is a complete work of art.

Children love the two languages that the animal's names are written in, my children (ages 2 and 4) repeat the English and Spanish animal ABC's right along with me every time. We have had this book for a week and they consistently have chosen it and want to "say" the animals- and tell me their favourites (over and over) again! You cannot go wrong with this book, I would even use it for babies as the pages are so incredibly coloured and bright I think they would love it, but it would be easiest for my kids probably between the ages of 1-5 to be completely taken by it. It almost feels like it is sunny outside, when here in Oregon all it is doing is rain. Looking at the pages, the colours lift you up and carry you to a much brighter imaginary place.

Always on the lookout for excellent children's books for my elementary school's library, I found this one at our public library and was immediately drawn to it by the colors. Each letter of the alphabet has a figurine of a handmade creature that begins with the letter in both English and Spanish (not all animals' names do so). I showed this to our Spanish teacher, who was very excited about the book, too. She commented that it would also give her an opportunity to use the "color" words. The paper is heavier than the usual ABC book, and it looks like it will hold up well for our "industrial use"!
Adios, Amigo!

ABeCedarios is a bilingual English/Spanish ABC book featuring photography of stunningly beautiful carved wooden figures of animals, done in the Oaxacan tradition by sculptors Moises and Armando Jimenez. There is a carved animal for each letter of the alphabet (including the letters unique to the Spanish alphabet, such as n with a tilde), in this colorful and inventive way for teaching a young child their ABCs. Highly recommended; even adults will enjoy lingering over the unique animal artistry.

The item arrived on time and as pictured so I would order from this seller again. But on a side note: Even though the item itself is cheap the shipping will get ya!

I search through what felt like a mountain of "How to Draw" books trying to find one for my 5 year old daughter. They all seemed too complicated. This was one of the few books out there age appropriate for her. When I brought home the book, she immidiately was able to draw the animals on the pages. Its been almost a week and she is still carrying it everywhere so that she can draw in her free time. She is even began to draw scenery for the animals and combine more than one to create more complicated pictures. Excellent book! Please produce more in the same line.

My daughter, who is just learning the idea of drawing, has been intimidated by not being "good enough" in her drawing. I read her this book a few times and then I showed her how to put tracing paper over the step-by-step drawings and trace the lines. The first time, she caught on to the idea and had a cute drawing. She was thrilled! Great for teaching the idea of combining shapes to make very day objects.

It is not unusual to find an anthology of spiritual poetry, especially in these days of interest in such matters. It's slightly more difficult to find poetry matched with art, and matched well. This collection combines what it calls "visionary poetry" with works from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and I can only say that Kate Farrell, who put it all together, must have a deft hand, a great eye, a broad heart, and a fabulous poetry collection.

The poems she chose cross the centuries (Proverbs, John Keats, Robert Bly), come from known and unknown poets (Emily Dickenson, Anonymous Chippewa Indian), and represent many countries (America, England, France, Persia, Germany, Japan, etc.), and most are matched with two works of art. The selections are astonishingly appropriate, and makes one wish that all museums would display their art with some poetry alongside instead of, or in addition to the usual dry blurbs about the artwork.

The book is broken into thematic sections, Dwelling in Possibility, Sailing to Byzantium, The Secrets of the World, and A Further Sea. The acknowledgements in the back make it easy to find the work of a poet who might have particularly struck your fancy (and is how I was introduced to the amazing work of Mary Oliver).

At $18.95, this little gem is more than worth the money, and deserves a place on your shelf!

This is a wonderful book which juxtaposes works from Poets ranging from Emilyu Dickinson to Mary Oliver to John Milton with reproductions from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, often two images to a poem. The poetry by itself is exquisite, ditto the art, but the combinations are inspired and inspiring. I bought this book as a gift but couldn't bear to part with it so I gave it to myself & keep it by my bedside.

This is a wonderful book which juxtaposes works from Poets ranging from Emilyu Dickinson to Mary Oliver to John Milton with reproductions from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, often two images to a poem. The poetry by itself is exquisite, ditto the art, but the combinations are inspired and inspiring. I bought this book as a gift but couldn't bear to part with it so I gave it to myself & keep it by my bedside.

Colbert does a marvelous job here at combining the various elements of baseball-related art. In this collection you will find some of the very best poems and fictional outtakes that have been written about the game. But the speakers are not limited to professional writers. There are player quotes, journalistic snippets, and even a famous comedic routine.

Finally, the art work is stunning and layed out in a way that accentuates both the visual and verbal aspects of the book. Highly recommended for the fan of literature or baseball that wants something that is both beautiful and meaningful.

What a wonderful Mother's Day gift for one who truly loves the game of baseball. This book is baseball and writing at its best....from Humphrey Bogart's saying...a hot dog at the ballpark is better than steak at the Ritz....to the marvelous photos and poems...to Ann Hood's MEMOIR..and her love for the game. As Robert Frost said...some baseball is the fate of all of us.....and for us lucky ones...more than some please!! Despite all its problems, baseball is a great game!!

I loved editing this book. With the writers mentioned in the Publishers Weekly review above, you can guess why. But you'll be even more amazed, as I was, by the vibrant art and design. Deborah Bull and Greg Wakabayashi have created something special. David Colbert

This might be one of the most amazing craft books ever composed. Your kids will be better people after building these critters.

I've made several of the critters and found the directions easy to follow and accurate. For younger children, using regular pony beads and waxed linen (increasing the length of the cord by at least 1 1/2 times)makes it easy for little fingers to master with just a bit of help. I plan to make more for Christmas ornaments next year.

Once again, Ms. Bhatt has made beading easy with her wonderful descriptions and diagrams. This time she allows the bead enthusiast to create charming land and sea creatures without the headache of deciphering complex directions. This is a beading book that will assist both adults and children who wish to take their beading to a new level.

My copy of this book is highlighted and dog-eared, with book marks popping out all over the place. Mr. Leithart's analysis is wonderfully unforced. He's not jamming Shakespeare's work into a Christian mold. He is uncovering what is there. I found this especially effective in his analysis of "The Taming of the Shrew". Since Leithart wrote these when he was teaching a class himself, they are classroom tested. The introduction supplies a suggested schedule to follow. Each play is introduced, then examined Act by Act with review and thought questions. Each chapter ends with suggested essay topics, and some review of movie versions that are available to see. This is great, and I make constant use of it.
Six more, Mr. Leithart, please!

I appreciated this book for its Christian perspective on a few of my favorite Shakespeare plays. The author explored not only the plots, but also the characters' relationships to Christ. The author made insightful parallels and comparisons between the characters and Christ and His church. I also appreciated the critiques of some of the film versions of the plays. I heartily recommend this eye-opening book!

And one of the reasons for that is this book, Brightest Heaven of Invention. It is a wonderful guide to read along with your next Shakespeare play. It explains the scenes from a unique perspective--a must-have book for Shakespeare fans! Mr. Leithart, we're waiting for the next book in this series.

My 8-year-old daughter really enjoys and has success with this book. The finished drawings look very nice, and never like over-simplified step-by-step drawings, yet they are fairly easy for her to follow and reproduce. The colors he uses are beautiful and nicely done, providing more good ideas for the reader. I strongly recommend this book.

Unlike many simplified books for children to draw various things, this one isn't dumbed down too much. I have a 6-year-old who is a budding naturalist and who pays a lot of attention to the details of the things he studies. Where other bug books just show some random cross hatching on the dragonfly wings, this one cares about the artistry of those wings.

I actually didn't purchase this book for drawing alone -- since starting "school work" my 6-year-old had taken to rushing through pages of work and it was quantity over quality. I thought that by working on drawing projects we might work a little on taking time and doing one's best. I looked at some of the author's other drawing books but they looked a little more complicated -- we chose this one because they seemed the simplest illustrations to begin with, and of course as a buding naturalist my son loves most bugs anyway (as long as they stay out of the house). He isn't a little Picasso (maybe that's a bad example, though at least Picasso was a child prodigy in art -- when he drew more realistically -- and my son isn't) but he has still come up with some nice drawings. Maybe one side of the his creepy crawlies might be smaller than the other side or slightly more angled, but he has still created illustrations -- thanks to this book -- that he is proud of and that as his mother I'm happy to stick up on the family blog or into the family scrapbook... most of all it DID help him start to think about taking his time, and I have watched his penmanship begin to improve again.

It's a good springboard in science, too -- while beginning with this book we also watched the BBC series "Life in the Undergrowth" which was all about creepy crawlies. They complimented each other well and as he chose things to draw he could tell me things he had seen in the documentaries which helped me to know he was really learning from them, without me playing the annoying parent/teacher and trying to extact it all out of him in some way that would make him more self conscious.

We'll definately be trying the author's other books later.

My 6 year old, who loves bugs, loves this book. The drawing instructions are are very simple for a child to follow, and he came up with some nice looking drawings. I uploaded some of his drawings. The book is made of strong, sturdy paper, good to last a while.

This book is a visual map of the castle that is a must for every history/romance/medieval buff. It can be too conplicated to imagine all of the inner and outer structures of a working castle. Lee's work can give the reader a firm foundation to build on with his fantastic illustrations.

When I first read this book when it came out way back in 86, I was blown away. The artwork was the best I had ever seen in a book like this, and the retelling of different myths to go along with each castle presented read like a fantasy story for history buffs. It covered classic celtic strongholds, all the stories surrounding the Arthuranian mythos, faerie castles, and those fortresses of the likes of Ghormenghast and Edgar Allen Poe's House of Usher. I would have to reccommend this book for all those lovers of fantasy and of great art.

Amazing! Alan Lee is an incredable painter/illustrator. His work in this books brings to life not only the Castles he paints, but the people and the time in which these castles are located. The work spans historical as well as fictional locations, all of which make me wish that there was a print store right next door. This book is perfect for children and adults alike. Awesome, in the truest meaning of the word.

I must start off my saying I am a great fan of the artist Warren Kimbal and would love any book with his animals. But the "Cat's Meow" is particularly important because my grand-daughter ADORES cats and, at 3 1/2, is trying to copy her older brother in reading letters and trying to learn to read words. This book will be perfect for her! There are so many fun cats and so few and such simple words! It will give her a great feeling of accomplishment and equality with her brother as she turns the pages and reads the words!

This book was purchased because it perfectly matches some items of decor based on the tuxedo cat depicted! Thus it made a great Christmas gift! However, it's a great kid's book with engaging illustrations too! If you're a feline fancier you'll love it!

Thanks to the imaginative vision and gifted palette of artist Warren Kimble his favorite cats not only catch eyes but win hearts. From "Mat Cat," a serene orange ball of fur who stakes out territory on a rug to"Happy Cat," a contented black and white bright eyed feline who perches atop a gift box, all rendered in the incomparable Kimble manner.

As most know, he is one of the foremost folk artists in our country with his popular cats being found on everything from notepads to wallpaper. A former elementary art teacher, he left teaching to find a home in Vermont he once shared a 200 year old barn with cows, sheep, chickens and various four legged creatures. He's happiest when painting on distressed wood - antique doors, breadboards, tabletops.

We're happy leafing through The Cat's Meow and enjoying his full color cat paintings - all done on his favorite surface, distressed wood.

Highly recommended.

- Gail Cooke

Having decided from the beginning that each quilt should have a cat on it somewhere, I ordered this book to see examples of how people in the past have represented cats on quilts. The liveliness of representation of cats is quite amazing, with many of the quilts managing to capture the way a cat looks and behaves - no mean feat, you only have to look at available cat fabrics to see how rare this is.
This is a small book, with each page containing detail from one quilt and I'd recommend it strongly to anyone interested in seeing in close-up detail how cats have been pictured on old quilts. I think it's a wonderful book.

This is a FANTASTIC book. The quilts that the author chose to include are unique, one-of-a-kind pieces and often display a wonderful sense of humor. (Take, for instance, the quilt which features blocks with the head and front paws of a kitty, and the disappearing hind end of a mouse escaping from the kitty.) The excerpts from different writings about cats are understated and thoughtful, and the author provides a great mini-history of textiles in America. This book moved me into high gear in my own quilting and is an ongoing source of keen pleasure. If you don't quilt, if you just like cats, you'll love the book because of its folk-art depictions of cats; if you like cats AND quilting, this book will make you feel like someone let you loose in the catnip patch.

This sweet book would make a nice gift - it is full of whimsical and unusual examples of cat motifs on American country quilts. Many cat-related books are a bit saccharine for my taste but this is a refreshing and delightful change of pace