Friday, December 17, 2021

Books for the Elementary Art Room

Like many-dare I say most?-elementary art teachers, I use a lot of children's books in my art classroom. Recently, there have been many posts in different art teacher Facebook groups asking about favorite books for the classroom, prompting me to create a list of books, organized by categories; artists, inspiring, cultural, elements, principles, character traits/SEO, diversity/inclusion, non-fiction, activity/coloring books, and teaching resources. Each row includes a photo of the book cover, title, author, and an Amazon affiliate link. I also have space for the subject/art connection, country/culture and project ideas. I will be adding to this list as I discover new books, and link projects as I create them for the subject and/or artist in the book(s).

While you're here, though,  here are a few of my recently discovered children's books.



A Life Made by Hand: The Story of Ruth Asawa by Andrea D'Aquino

I discovered the amazingness of Ruth Asawa last spring, and was thrilled to find a children's book about her life that is approved by her family. I am working on developing a lesson with Asawa's sculptural style. 



Art From Her Heart: Folk Artist Clementine Hunter by Kathy Whitehead and Shane W. Evans



Banksy Graffitied Walls and Wasn't Sorry by Fausto Gilberti

This book is actually one of a series of books including Jackson Pollock, Yves Klein, and Yayoi Kusama.



Pizza with Everything on It by Kyle Scheele

Last years my fourth graders made paper mache food and this book would be the perfect compliment to the project. It would open the kids up to thinking about odd things they can add to their artwork and also open up discussion about textures.

No comments: