A Whole World of Art / A time-travelling trip through a WHOLE world of art /anglais

by PHILLIPS SARAH

This beautifully illustrated book seeks to tell children the true story of art, in which the rich visual canon from every culture is explored by looking at key works from different times and places.Even before they could write, people were telling stories with pictures. And though art is universal, the story we know about it is not. Art Decolonized opens your eyes to a global view of art by taking you on a whirlwind tour around the world and through time. With two companions—a boy and a girl—travel through 25 destinations from the history of art , circling the globe.Each spread shows a stunning, edge-to-edge illustrated scene from art history portraying an artist or artists making important artwork within a detailed background. A paragraph of introductory text and small captions around the page give fascinating details about the artists and the time and place in which they lived. Art project ideas provide inspiration throughout. Written by art history teacher Dr. Sarah Phillips, who rewrote and decolonized the A Level syllabus in the UK, and illustrated by talented artist Dion Mehaga Bangun Djayasaputra, this gorgeous book offers a fresh, inclusive view of the history of art.

Genres: Art, History, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Childrens, Middle Grade

64 pages, Hardcover

Published August 31, 2023

Reviews

[Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Educational book about art around the world. Alzena and Miles travel the world on each page learning about a specific work of art in different time periods and countries. It begins with the Giza, Ancient Egypt and a bust of Nefertiti (1350 BCE) and ends in Prague with a contemporary work in 2018. I like that it isn’t always traditional famous works. It includes murals, sculptures, and I love that it adds things like stained glass, an atlas and other less common works. It includes work from around the world and isn’t western or Eurocentric as a focus. I appreciated learning about the works and artists some of I have seen in person. I could easily see this is libraries or older elementary classrooms.

Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group - Wide Eyed Editions for the temporary ARC and I leaving a voluntary review.

[The Sassy Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Review: A Whole World of Art: A time-travelling trip through a whole world of art by Sarah Phillips

A Whole World of Art is a beautifully illustrated book that seeks to introduce children to the rich visual canon of art from different cultures and time periods. Authored by art history teacher Dr. Sarah Phillips and illustrated by Dion Mehaga Bangun Djayasaputra, this book takes readers on a captivating journey through 27 destinations in art history, circling the globe.

The book opens with the notion that even before the advent of writing, people were telling stories through pictures. However, the story we know about art is often limited and fails to encompass its global nature. A Whole World of Art aims to rectify this by providing a fresh and inclusive view of art history.

Each spread in the book showcases a stunning and detailed illustration that brings to life an artist or artists creating important artwork within their historical context. Accompanying the illustrations are paragraphs of introductory text and small captions that offer fascinating details about the artists, their lives, and the time and place in which they lived. Furthermore, the book provides art project ideas that inspire creativity and engagement with the featured artworks.

The illustrations in A Whole World of Art are simply breathtaking. They are beautifully rendered, capturing the essence and style of each artist’s work. The attention to detail in the backgrounds adds an extra layer of depth to the visuals, making them truly immersive. It is evident that Dion Mehaga Bangun Djayasaputra’s talent as an artist has brought the stories of art to life in a captivating way.

In terms of content, this book is a treasure trove of information. It provides readers with a wealth of knowledge about the featured artists, their artworks, and the historical context in which they were created. The book goes beyond mere descriptions and delves into the inspirations behind the artworks, offering readers a deeper understanding of the artistic process. Additionally, it highlights where these works of art are currently displayed, which can serve as a starting point for further exploration.

While A Whole World of Art excels in its content and illustrations, one minor issue I found was that the font used throughout the book was slightly small. This may pose a challenge for younger readers or those with visual impairments. However, this does not detract significantly from the overall experience and enjoyment of the book.

In conclusion, A Whole World of Art is a remarkable resource for children who have an interest in both art and history. It successfully introduces readers to diverse art forms from around the world and throughout history. The combination of engaging illustrations, informative text, and art project ideas make this book an invaluable tool for nurturing creativity and expanding cultural knowledge. I wholeheartedly recommend it as a gift for budding artists and history lovers alike. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

**ARC Via NetGalley**

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Whole World of Art takes the reader on a time-traveling journey to discover paintings, sculptures, and architecture worldwide. This is different from your typical art history book. It begins in Giza, Ancient Egypt, in 1350 BCE and ends in Prague, Czech Republic, in 2018. Other locations include Japan, Australia, the US, Mexico, Sudan, Nigeria, the UK, Russia, and Guatemala.

I would have loved it if the book contained a map of all the locations, but building one added a lesson in geography and cartography, allowing us to expand our use of the book. We even added building the LEGO Art - The Giant Wave to our lesson plan.

Each location in the book contains a lot of information about the featured artist, their artwork, and similar historical facts, like their inspiration and where the artwork is currently displayed. These facts are broken into 1-2 sentence blurbs to keep the reader's information manageable. The reader can choose how much to learn on each page. Some of these blurbs ask the reader questions like "What or who do you think the artist is painting on the big easel to the left?" or point out parts of the art they may not have noticed. This can lead a child to investigate further and interact more with the artwork.

Overall, this book would be a good addition to a lesson plan on art history or geography. The pages can be read out of order, so if I was learning about Japan, I could read those pages and save the others for another country.

Recommended age: 8-10 years (Elementary school)

Writing style: Short blurbs of information scattered across the page. There isn't a defined order to read them, and all do not need to be read to learn more about the art in the illustrations. They include facts about the artwork and artists and prompts for readers to investigate further or make their own artwork.

Lexile range (unofficial): 810L - 1000L
Sentence length: 5/5
Word frequency: 2/5

Illustration style: Dion MBD seamlessly incorporates photographs of the actual artwork into his vast two-page spreads. He draws the architecture and clothing of each location and time period. The colors match those in the painting, leading to a varied yet toned-down style.

Reality-based: This is a non-fiction art history book exploring art worldwide.

Disclaimer: Thank you, NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Wide Eyed Editions, for this title. All opinions are my own.

[Theediscerning · Rating 2 out of 5]

A well-intentioned book, but one very clumsy – at least in the digital review copy I saw. One page told of one statue's height in metres, with the next paragraph using feet for another instead. The lie the Great Wall of China can be seen from the moon is just yawnsome. And while there's little denying artistic endeavours of countries and civilisations can be lauded, and architecture can be artistic, the book struggles to match artist to anything specific for quite some time.

What we get is a double-paged spread for artistic/cultural highlights throughout the ages, with one paragraph of main text and a 'guess-the-reading-order' batch of factoids dropped willy-nilly elsewhere. Some pages are downright unreadable as a result – you find the artist mentioned by first name only before the most important line much later. Efforts to thrust anti-colonialism and wokeness on the readership can be thought of as a successful breaking of the canon, and the book certainly shows many artists very seldom seen in books for this age range, but at the same time you ignore van Gogh, Degas – indeed the entirety of Impressionism – and so much more. So it's not the standard Western art, and not the standard art book – but those standards work because they work. And either way readability really shouldn't be compromised like it is here.

[Belle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could we please edit this small part 🙃

NASA confirms you cannot see the Great Wall of China from the moon, so that "fact" really needs to be taken out. You can however see it from low orbit, under the right conditions and with the help of the right equipment.

From NASA:

"The visible wall theory was shaken after China's own astronaut, Yang Liwei, said he couldn’t see the historic structure. There was even talk about rewriting textbooks that espouse the theory, a formidable task in the Earth’s most populous nation."

So, the author may have sourced information from a text that still has the myth 🌝

~

I can't speak to any of the other facts throughout, I usually take these books at face value. The book is super cool and super interesting, showcasing so many different cultures and artistic expression from ancient times to now.

*Temporary access e-copy received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[LaBibliodeCaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Whole World of Art is a compelling resource for kids to learn about art history. It spans across eras and continents. Visually rich and entertaining, although all artworks didn't resonate equally with me, some are more appealing than others. It's not a detailed account of the rich history of art, but it imparts some interesting information, highlighting artists that may not be well-known to the younger generation. Fun fact, you'll even learn about the real people that inspired Disney for its hit The Lion King.

[Jenny Blacker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely would've loved this book as a child, the layout is lovely and bright with facts peppered around. It runs chronologically through time, and areas of the world, giving snippets of art history.

I was pleased to see it's not just a history of Western art, but of the world. This does feel more standard with newer titles, but I think it's worth pointing out so people can see when it isn't the case.

I received an advance copy for free from NetGalley, on the expectation that I would provide an honest review.

[Bzz Kolla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Wide Eyed Editions for this eCopy to review

I really enjoyed reading A Whole World of Art with my children. We learnt a lot of information about art throughout time and all around the world. The book is very clearly set out with beautiful illustrations and text on each double spread. We particularly enjoyed the fact that it covers the whole world not just the West, so we learnt about different cultures as well

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with all non-fiction books by Quarto Publishing, this is an information packed book full of stunning illustrations. The book covers a wide selection of cities from various countries. For each featured city, it spotlights an artist and a piece of their work. I love how it includes some less commonplace choices.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Art History becomes accessible for kids in this book by Sarah Phillips. The book is full of facts about each culture and many different prominent artists. Readers will certainly enjoy the photos of famous artwork mixed into beautiful illustrations.

Thank you NetGalley for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good reference book for art history, this was a dense book, definitely best for older readers. The illustrations were almost abstract, with a wide variety of ethnicities and lesser known modern artists being represented. I really liked the illustrations and information. It's a book that readers will come back to again and again as they look up information.

[Ashley | reading.steminist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fun educational book about art around the world. I really love that the book is part illustration and part photos of the actual art to make it fun. Definitely more for older children like 1st grade and up.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful introduction to art for children. Each double spread examines a different era or type of art. There are a number of artists who are less well-known. This makes for an interesting read, rather than a regurgitation of the usual suspects.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This compiles a list of major artistic works from around the world. It details a significant work of art from each of several significant cities around the world. It's an interesting and entertaining compilation.

[Andréa]

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing work that details wonderful art throughout the world. The photos, facts and glossary gave us time to discuss and look up the places online.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Engaging, well-presented overview of artists and styles throughout history.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lovely book helps children see art throughout history, starting in 1350 BCE in Giza, Egypt and ending with Ai Wei Wei in 1968. But this is not another trek through Western Art history from Michelangelo to Monet - author Sarah Phillips effectively decolonizes art history by showing us 33 important works from all over the world, including Indonesia, Sudan, Guatemala, Japan and Russia and artists from a variety of backgrounds, faiths and races. Phillips contextualizes them so young readers learn about their lives, influences and the materials with which they worked. Information is also given about where the art is now and whether it can be viewed by the public (she pointedly notes that many works from Africa (in particular) were taken by conquerors during the colonization era).

The illustrations by Dion Mehaga Bangun Djayasaputra are notable. Each spread contains lively and beautifully drawn images of the art and artists being presented, integrated with actual pictures of the art being discussed.

As a teacher of art appreciation, I applaud this effort (can they do one for adults now please?). My only question is what age is the proper audience. Although the short, illustrated format seems meant for smaller children, some of the facts, names and places would be better absorbed by older children. I can see it being used in 3rd - 5th grade classes, hopefully in geography and history study as well as art. In addition to decolonizing the history of art, this book can also play a role in helping children understand that art doesn’t just live in museums, and knowledge of art can and should be integrated into curriculum as an equal player.

Many thanks to Quarto/Wide Eyed Publications and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.