50 Books About The Arts:

Building Blocks: Books about Architecture and Architects:

Fern, Tracey E.. Pippo the Fool. Illustrated by Pau Estrada. Charlesbridge, 2009. 40 pages. Ages 8 -12

Greenburg, Jan and Sandra Jordan . Frank O. Gehry: Outside In. DK Ink, 2000. 47 pages. Age 9 and older

Macaulay, David. Built to Last. Houghton Mifflin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010. 272 pages. Ages 10 and older

Rodriguez, Rachel. Building on Nature: The Life of Antoni Gaudi. Illustrated by Julie Paschkis. Henry Holt, 2009. 32 pages. Ages 6 – 9

Rubin, Susan Goldman. There Goes the Neighborhood: Ten Buildings People Love to Hate. Holiday House, 2001. 96 pages. Ages 9 – 14

 

Mixed Media: Books about Visual Arts and Artists:

Cha, Dia and Chue and Nhia Thao Cha . Dia’s Story Cloth: The Hmong People’s Journey to Freedom. Denver Museum of Natural History/Lee & Low, 1996. 24 pages. Ages 8 – 11

Duffy, editor, Chris and With an introduction by Leonard S. Marcus . Nursery Rhyme Comics. First Second, 2011. 119 pages. Age 7 and older

Ehlert, Lois. Hands. Harcourt, Brace, 1997. 42 pages. Ages 4 – 8

Gonyea, Mark. A Book about Design: Complicated Doesn’t Make It Good. Henry Holt, 2005. 144 pages. Ages 8-18

Greenberg, Jan and Sandra Jordan . Runaway Girl: The Artist Louise Bourgeois . Abrams, 2003. 80 pages. Ages 13 and older

Greenberg, Jan and Sandra Jordan . Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Through the Gates and Beyond. A Neal Porter Book/Flash Point/Roaring Brook Press, 2008. 50 pages. Age 10 and older

Greenberg, Jan. Side by Side: New Poems Inspired by Art from Around the World. Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2008. 88 pages. Age 12 and older

Haas, Robert B.. I Dreamed of Flying Like a Bird: My Adventures Photographing Wild Animals from a Helicopter. National Geographic, 2010. 64 pages. Ages 9 and older

Hill, Laban Carrick. Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. Little, Brown and Company, 2010. 40 pages. Ages 6 – 10

Novesky, Amy. Me, Frida. Illustrated by David Diaz. Abrams, 2010. 32 pages. Ages 7 – 12

Rodrigue, George and Bruce Goldstone . Why Is Blue Dog Blue?. Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2002. 40 pages. Ages 4 – 8

Rubin, Susan Goldman. Andy Warhol: Pop Art Painter. Abrams, 2006. 48 pages. Age 10 and older

Say, Allen. Drawing from Memory. Scholastic Press, 2011. 64 pages. Age 10 and older

Sís, Peter. The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain. Frances Foster Books / Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007. 48 pages. Age 9 and older

Sturm, James and Andrew Arnold and Alexis Frederick-Frost . Adventures in Cartooning. First Second, 2009. 109 pages. Ages 7 -10

Tonatiuh, Duncan. Diego Rivera: His World and Ours. Abrams, 2011. 32 pages. Ages 6-9

Winter, Jeanette. My Name Is Georgia: A Portrait. Silver Whistle/Harcourt Brace, 1998. 48 pages. Ages 5 – 8

 

On the Stage: Books about Performing Arts and Artists:

Aliki, . William Shakespeare and the Globe. HarperCollins, 1999. 48 pages. Ages 8 – 12

Ancona, George. ¡Olé! Flamenco. Lee & Low Books, 2010. 48 pages. Ages 7 – 10

Angel, Ann. Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing. Amulet Books, 2010. 120 pages. Age 14 and older

Bruchac, Joseph. Pushing Up the Sky: Seven Native American Plays for Children. Illustrated by Teresa Flavin. Dial, 2000. 94 pages. Age 9 and older

Cox, Judy. My Family Plays Music. Illustrated by Elbrite Brown. Holiday House, 2003. 32 pages. Ages 4-7

Ehrhardt, Karen. This Jazz Man. Illustrated by R.G. Roth. Harcourt, 2006. 32 pages. Ages 4-10

Gladstone, Valerie. A Young Dancer: The Life of an Ailey Student. Photographed by Jose Ivey. Christy Ottaviano Books / Henry Holt, 2009. 48 pages. Ages 9 – 12

Greenberg, Jan and Sandra Jordan . Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring. Illustrated by Brian Floca. A Neal Porter Book/Roaring Brook Press, 2010. 48 pages. Ages 7 – 11

Jones, Bill T. and Susan Kuklin . Dance. Photographed by Susan Kuklin. Hyperion, 1998. 32 pages. Ages 3-9

Myers, Walter Dean. Jazz. Illustrated by Christopher Myers. Holiday House, 2006. 44 pages. Age 10 and older

Nichols, Travis . Punk Rock Etiquette: The Ultimate How-to Guide for Punk, Underground, DIY, and Indie Bands. Flash Point / Roaring Brook Press, 2008. 138 pages. Age 14 and older

Raschka, Chris. John Coltrane’s Giant Steps. A Richard Jackson Book / Atheneum, 2002. 32 pages. Ages 6 – 10

Say, Allen. Kamishibai Man. Walter Lorraine Books / Houghton Mifflin, 2005. 32 pages. Ages 5-8

Schubert, Leda. Ballet of the Elephants. Illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker . A Deborah Brodie Book / Roaring Brook Press, 2006. 32 pages. Ages 5-10

Sweet, Melissa. Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade. Houghton Mifflin / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011. 32 pages. Ages 6-10

 

Young at Art: Picture Books and Novels Featuring Young Artists:

Adoff, Jaime. The Song Shoots Out of My Mouth. Illustrated by Martin French. Dutton, 2002. 48 pages. Ages 11-14

Ajmera, Maya and John D. Ivanko . To Be an Artist. SHAKTI for Children / Charlesbridge, 2004. 32 pages. Ages 4-8

Castellucci, Cecil and Jim Rugg . The Plain Janes. Minx, 2007. 172 pages. Ages 13-16

Creech, Sharon. Replay. Joanna Cotler Books / HarperCollins, 2005. 240 pages. Ages 8-11

McDonnell, Patrick. Art. Little, Brown, 2006. 40 pages. Ages 3-6

McKissack, Patricia C.. Stitchin’ and Pullin’: A Gee’s Bend Quilt. Illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera. Random House, 2008. 40 pages. Ages 7-11

Perkins, Mitali. Rickshaw Girl. Illustrated by Jamie Hogan. Charlesbridge, 2007. 91 pages. Ages 8-10

Potter, Giselle. The Year I Didn’t Go to School. An Anne Schwartz Book / Atheneum, 2002. 32 pages. Ages 5 – 8

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Jingle Dancer. Illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu. Morrow/HarperCollins, 2000. 32 pages. Ages 5 – 8

Weatherford, Carole Boston. Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane. Illustrated by Sean Qualls. Henry Holt, 2008. 28 pages. Ages 5-8

 

This list may be reproduced and distributed by educational and/or nonprofit organizations so long as credit is given to the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison.