Artists; Writers

Artists allows Leonardo, Rembrandt, Turner, van Gogh, Monet and Picasso four pages each. Large type and reasonably sized reproductions of four or five of each of their works make this an attractive basic introduction for lower juniors. Particularly impressive is the way the author has tried to explain why they painted as they did, especially in the cases of Monet and Picasso.

Writers is less successful with Lewis Carroll, Kenneth Grahame, Beatrix Potter, A A Milne, Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl getting the treatment – simple biographical details, home life, school, the inspiration for the stories and a little on the most famous texts. The appeal of this book lies more with the reproductions from the work of the artists who illustrated their books (particularly Tenniel, Shepard and Blake) than with the writers. Other titles in this series are Kings and Queens, Inventors, Explorers, Saints, Engineers, Campaigners for Change .