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The Art of Reading
For forty years, Reading is Fundamental, the nation's largest nonprofit literacy organization, has been putting books into the hands of children across America.
To commemorate the fortieth anniversary, it has brought together forty of the most beloved children's book illustrators working today and asked them each to reimagine a classic book from their childhood...
To commemorate the fortieth anniversary, it has brought together forty of the most beloved children's book illustrators working today and asked them each to reimagine a classic book from their childhood...
96 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
December 16, 2014
The two first words in the subtitle of this book are as important as is the title itself. Forty Illustrators it proclaims and these forty illustrators certainly deliver. Their mission was to help celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Reading is Fundamental by re-imagining a favorite book from their childhood using their unique gift of artwork.
I really enjoyed reading about the books each author chose. Of course, the images they created to illustrate their take on these favorites were stunning.
The best of the best are represented here and you’ll probably find your favorite but may also find someone new. In addition to the essays and images that make up the meat of this collection, there is an About the Illustrators section included which features their prominent works. From Mary Azarian of Snowflake Bentley fame to Paul O. Zelinsky, Swamp Angel and more, this is topnotch collection honoring the artists who illustrate our beloved books.
Extending my sincere thanks to my GR friend Cheryl for bringing The Art of Reading: Forty Illustrators Celebrate RIF’s 40th Anniversary to my attention. Secluded in our library stacks in the arts section of juvenile non-fiction I may never have found this gem if not for her review. May be enjoyed by adults and children alike.
I really enjoyed reading about the books each author chose. Of course, the images they created to illustrate their take on these favorites were stunning.
The best of the best are represented here and you’ll probably find your favorite but may also find someone new. In addition to the essays and images that make up the meat of this collection, there is an About the Illustrators section included which features their prominent works. From Mary Azarian of Snowflake Bentley fame to Paul O. Zelinsky, Swamp Angel and more, this is topnotch collection honoring the artists who illustrate our beloved books.
Extending my sincere thanks to my GR friend Cheryl for bringing The Art of Reading: Forty Illustrators Celebrate RIF’s 40th Anniversary to my attention. Secluded in our library stacks in the arts section of juvenile non-fiction I may never have found this gem if not for her review. May be enjoyed by adults and children alike.
September 25, 2018
3.5 ⭐
This book is a collection of stories about children books illustrators' favorite books and how those books affect them as children. It's an interesting read. Some of these illustrators that I'm familiar with and reading what inspired them to become an illustrator is fascinating! Now, I realize that picture/illustration plays a bigger role in children literature than I'd have thought.
February 28, 2023
Forty illustrators were asked to talk about the book that led them to reading and illustrating. The forty men and women came from very diverse beginnings; some grew up surrounded by books and others had no books in their homes. All found their way into lifework as book illustrators somehow. The illustrations are clever and the stories are fun to read.
April 5, 2008
Lovely idea: Invite children's book illustrators to do an illustration for their favorite book. The write-ups of why they chose what they did are fascinating, and it's fun to see how they visualize their favorites. It was also fun to hear about new-to-me books and illustrators.
September 13, 2019
I loved this book because it brought children's literature and art together. In conjunction with the 40th Anniversary of RIF, forty illustrators reimagine their favorite books with their art. Now I'm probably going to get it, but I am tired of that trend that children must read books with themselves in them . I read to experience different cultures , races and emotions. Bryan Collier who is an African American Illustrator and one of my favorites describes his favorite book and also one of mine Harold and the Purple Crayon. Now the character of Harold is as different from Bryan Collier as can be yet Collier saw the artistic spirit , ingenuity and imaginative child that Harold was in himself. If you love art and reading I highly recommend this book!
May 11, 2015
This is a must read if you love children's literature. It's a wonderful tribute to the joy of books as 40 well known illustrators (some award winners) share which books most inspired them as children. Each artist also contributes their original rendering of a scene from his or her favorite book. Truly a gem.
July 15, 2023
This book was hog-heaven for those of us who are buyers of children’s books and also love the particular art of illustration, which is quite different from the art you hang on your wall. (Although I admit to gifting framed copies of some especially scrumptious illustrations taken from old books to grandchildren when they were tiny. Why should children be raised on the cartoonish muck that adorns most modern children’s books?)
Most of the illustrators in “The Art of Reading” chose some famous book as the muse to their later employment, and most of them were books I’d given or read to my children or their children. I can see why the book might disappoint anyone who didn’t have this background and basically just wanted a coffee-table book of pictures. If that’s you, then better to spend your dollars on the books the illustrators mentioned, all of which are cheaply available secondhand from the usual sites (and with the original illustrations, which isn’t always true of modern editions.) By the way, even this book can be read online for free, which I always do when possible before buying a book, so I’m not left complaining that the book wasn’t what I had expected.
Most of the illustrators in “The Art of Reading” chose some famous book as the muse to their later employment, and most of them were books I’d given or read to my children or their children. I can see why the book might disappoint anyone who didn’t have this background and basically just wanted a coffee-table book of pictures. If that’s you, then better to spend your dollars on the books the illustrators mentioned, all of which are cheaply available secondhand from the usual sites (and with the original illustrations, which isn’t always true of modern editions.) By the way, even this book can be read online for free, which I always do when possible before buying a book, so I’m not left complaining that the book wasn’t what I had expected.
May 19, 2023
What a pleasant surprise!
40 artists, varied styles
Each artist has provided a picture and an illustration, most of which were made expressly for this book. Each artist also shares the memory of a favorite book from their own childhood. Several of them also described their early interest in art.
'About the Illustrators' appears right before the Index. This includes examples of published work by each artist.
The first listing (which is alphabetical) reads ...
Mary Azarian has illustrated over forty books, including the Caldecott Medal-winning title Snowflake Bentley, by Jaqueline Briggs Martin, and Miss Bridie Chose a Shovel, by Leslie Connor.
I recognized many of the artists from the books we have. (Snowflake Bentley is one of our favorites.)
40 artists, varied styles
Each artist has provided a picture and an illustration, most of which were made expressly for this book. Each artist also shares the memory of a favorite book from their own childhood. Several of them also described their early interest in art.
'About the Illustrators' appears right before the Index. This includes examples of published work by each artist.
The first listing (which is alphabetical) reads ...
Mary Azarian has illustrated over forty books, including the Caldecott Medal-winning title Snowflake Bentley, by Jaqueline Briggs Martin, and Miss Bridie Chose a Shovel, by Leslie Connor.
I recognized many of the artists from the books we have. (Snowflake Bentley is one of our favorites.)
January 31, 2025
A fun and interesting read that allows you to meet a collection of illustrators as they tell you about the books that inspired them in their youth. ❤
February 6, 2017
Tadinya saya pikir ini buku tentang seni membaca/menikmati buku, ternyata "art" di sini mengacu pada ilustrator. Jadi begini, buku ini adalah proyek Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), sebuah lembaga sosial di Amerika. Nah, pada ultah RIF yang ke-40, mereka mengumpulkan 40 karya ilustrator buku anak. Yang menarik, para ilustrator tersebut diminta membuat ilustrasi dari buku favorit di masa kecil mereka. Mereka juga menulis alasan mengapa mereka sangat suka buku tersebut dan bagaimana persentuhan mereka dengan buku di masa kecil.
Namanya ilustrator, ilustrasi buku klasik anak yang mereka buat ya keren-keren. Ilustrasi buku seperti Charlotte's Webb, Moby Dick, Little House in the Prairie, Winnie the Pooh, Black Beauty, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Three Little Pigs, hingga Where the Wild Things Are (dan banyak buku lain yang belum saya baca :D), digambar dengan beragam teknik dan gaya. Cakep-cakep dah!
Jujur, dari 40 ilustrator tersebut yang saya kenal dan sudah baca karya-karyanya hanya satu, Brian Selznick *payah ya =___=. Ternyata saya tak kenal banyak ilustrator buku anak, selain memang belum banyak picture books karya mereka yang saya baca.
Eh ya, sayangnya nggak ada ilustrator favorit saya, Quentin Blake.
Well, buku yang bagus untuk mengenal ilustrator buku anak dan gaya ilustrasi mereka.
Namanya ilustrator, ilustrasi buku klasik anak yang mereka buat ya keren-keren. Ilustrasi buku seperti Charlotte's Webb, Moby Dick, Little House in the Prairie, Winnie the Pooh, Black Beauty, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Three Little Pigs, hingga Where the Wild Things Are (dan banyak buku lain yang belum saya baca :D), digambar dengan beragam teknik dan gaya. Cakep-cakep dah!
Jujur, dari 40 ilustrator tersebut yang saya kenal dan sudah baca karya-karyanya hanya satu, Brian Selznick *payah ya =___=. Ternyata saya tak kenal banyak ilustrator buku anak, selain memang belum banyak picture books karya mereka yang saya baca.
Eh ya, sayangnya nggak ada ilustrator favorit saya, Quentin Blake.
Well, buku yang bagus untuk mengenal ilustrator buku anak dan gaya ilustrasi mereka.
March 22, 2013
I find this to be a super reference for teachers who read aloud a variety of books to their students. This is the sort of book that you keep handy and then share a bit about an illustrator/author after you've read one of their books aloud.
Forty different author/illustrators share the book that most influenced them as a child or young adult. They explore their feelings toward those pieces of literature and why they were so important. Each author gets one page to tell their story, and one page to illustrate a part of that story in their own style. Fascinating!
For example, Eric Rohmann will be our guest author in May. We've read a few of his books together, but really nothing about Eric. I will be sure to share that his favorite book as an eight-year-old was Millions of Cats by Wanda Gág. He delves into the "deal" that he and Wanda make in order to suspend reality for the sake of the book. I'm not sure my second graders will understand that, but some of the fifth graders might!
Forty different author/illustrators share the book that most influenced them as a child or young adult. They explore their feelings toward those pieces of literature and why they were so important. Each author gets one page to tell their story, and one page to illustrate a part of that story in their own style. Fascinating!
For example, Eric Rohmann will be our guest author in May. We've read a few of his books together, but really nothing about Eric. I will be sure to share that his favorite book as an eight-year-old was Millions of Cats by Wanda Gág. He delves into the "deal" that he and Wanda make in order to suspend reality for the sake of the book. I'm not sure my second graders will understand that, but some of the fifth graders might!
October 5, 2008
04/22/07
The Art of Reading is a charity book published by Reading is Fundamental to celebrate the foundations 40th anniversary. Forty children's illustrators were asked to write about their memories of reading and to include an illustration inspired by those memories. I read this book as a bookring, something I signed up for just before Harriet was born.
There are so many books for children published every year that I only recognized a couple names among the included artists. Among the books they listed as favorites, I saw many of mine: A Cricket in Times Square, Charlotte's Web, Freddy the Detective, and Millions of Cats.
The Art of Reading is a charity book published by Reading is Fundamental to celebrate the foundations 40th anniversary. Forty children's illustrators were asked to write about their memories of reading and to include an illustration inspired by those memories. I read this book as a bookring, something I signed up for just before Harriet was born.
There are so many books for children published every year that I only recognized a couple names among the included artists. Among the books they listed as favorites, I saw many of mine: A Cricket in Times Square, Charlotte's Web, Freddy the Detective, and Millions of Cats.
October 8, 2011
40 Illustrators of Children's books ruminate on their favorite childhood tomes while providing a custom illustration from their favorite tale. Most of the usual suspects are contained within ('Charlotte's Web', 'Harold and the Purple Crayon', etc) but there are some surprises such as Arthur C. Clarke's, '2001: A Space Odyssey' and Bradbury's 'Martian Chronicles.' This is a quick book, very easy to get through but surprisingly a bit disappointing in regards to the actual quality of some of the custom artwork.
February 26, 2008
كتاب حلو ..انصح به الجميع
أتخيل د.نجود ممكن تطبقي الفكرة مع طالبات مادة كتب اطفال
يختاروا أحد الكتب الكلاسيكية و يعيدوا رسم احد الصفحات حسب رؤيتهم
سلافه ممكن تستخدميه في مجموعاتك القرائية يختاروا أكثر كتاب كلاسيك اثر فيهم.. وكيف كان اثره عليهم..وتناقشوا فكرة كيف الكتب
ممكن تاثر في الأطفال و تصنع منهم كتاب و رسامين و...
.
مجرد اقتراح
أتخيل د.نجود ممكن تطبقي الفكرة مع طالبات مادة كتب اطفال
يختاروا أحد الكتب الكلاسيكية و يعيدوا رسم احد الصفحات حسب رؤيتهم
سلافه ممكن تستخدميه في مجموعاتك القرائية يختاروا أكثر كتاب كلاسيك اثر فيهم.. وكيف كان اثره عليهم..وتناقشوا فكرة كيف الكتب
ممكن تاثر في الأطفال و تصنع منهم كتاب و رسامين و...
.
مجرد اقتراح
September 30, 2010
Forty illustrators are asked to share a book that they remember from their childhood. Most of the illustrators also included an illustration that they created for their favorite book. It's great fun to read and look at these talented artists' pictures. I highly recommend it.
February 12, 2009
Will inspire you!
October 5, 2010
I never really investigate my favorite illustrators. Maybe I assume they're all dead already? This was fun, looking at comments and pictures drawn by the greats.
December 22, 2010
Fun book - children's illustrators tell of one of their favorite childhood books then illustrate one scene from that book.
October 30, 2013
Love the concept! Illustrators create an illustration in their own style of their favorite book as a child. Could be an art project during a Caldecott unit?
June 18, 2012
Beautiful collection of stories written by famous artists reflecting on a favorite childhood book. The depict their own version of an illustration from their favorite books.
September 18, 2013
Fun to read about well-known illustrators and which children's book inspired them as a child.
January 12, 2015
Illustrators write about books that influenced them in their childhood.
February 1, 2015
Lovely book - illustrators talk about their favorite book from childhood and then offer their own illustration.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews