Transport in Art

This is the fourth title in the 'I Spy' series (already published are An Alphabet in Art, Numbers in Art and Animals in Art) in which the game is of course a subtle means to an end, effortlessly luring participants into exploring carefully chosen examples from the whole spectrum of fine art painting. One reason why Lucy Micklethwait is so consistently successful in her approach to developing children's interest in art is that she never patronises her intended audience. Her wide-ranging selections are rarely predictable and frequently challenging, and the baker's dozen in her latest compilation is no exception. Thus, an aeroplane is to be spied in Paolozzi's 'Wittgenstein at the Cinema Admires Betty Grable', a rowing boat in Kandinsky's 'Birds' and a camel in Dali's 'La Table Solaire'. Only the minimum of factual information is given since the author notes that 'the children who helped me choose this small selection of paintings showed little interest in the artists, but they know the paintings inside out, and will, I'm sure, remember them.' That sums up the essence of what this book is all about.