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Birds & Other Animals: with Pablo Picasso
A groundbreaking study of animals as captured in rarely seen sketches by legendary artist Pablo Picasso The masterful drawings of Pablo Picasso are used to teach animal recognition in this artful, read-aloud board book. Birds & Other Animals takes children through Picasso's series of single-line animal drawings, beginning and ending with various kinds of birds. The cleverly whimsical charm of Picasso's sketches keeps readers engaged, while the accompanying text enriches the experience with conversational commentary. Readers will not only broaden their visual definitions of which animals are which, but also grow familiar with fine art in this relevant and relatable third title in the 'First Concepts with Fine Artists' series. Includes a read-aloud 'about the artist'.
30 pages, Board Book
First published April 24, 2017
46 people want to read
About the author
Pablo Picasso
995 books964 followersPablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he is known for co-founding the Cubist movement, the invention of constructed sculpture, the co-invention of collage, and for the wide variety of styles that he helped develop and explore. Among his most famous works are the proto-Cubist Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) and the anti-war painting Guernica (1937), a dramatic portrayal of the bombing of Guernica by German and Italian air forces during the Spanish Civil War.
Picasso demonstrated extraordinary artistic talent in his early years, painting in a naturalistic manner through his childhood and adolescence. During the first decade of the 20th century, his style changed as he experimented with different theories, techniques, and ideas. After 1906, the Fauvist work of the older artist Henri Matisse motivated Picasso to explore more radical styles, beginning a fruitful rivalry between the two artists, who subsequently were often paired by critics as the leaders of modern art.
Picasso's output, especially in his early career, is often periodized. While the names of many of his later periods are debated, the most commonly accepted periods in his work are the Blue Period (1901–1904), the Rose Period (1904–1906), the African-influenced Period (1907–1909), Analytic Cubism (1909–1912), and Synthetic Cubism (1912–1919), also referred to as the Crystal period. Much of Picasso's work of the late 1910s and early 1920s is in a neoclassical style, and his work in the mid-1920s often has characteristics of Surrealism. His later work often combines elements of his earlier styles.
Exceptionally prolific throughout the course of his long life, Picasso achieved universal renown and immense fortune for his revolutionary artistic accomplishments, and became one of the best-known figures in 20th-century art.
Picasso demonstrated extraordinary artistic talent in his early years, painting in a naturalistic manner through his childhood and adolescence. During the first decade of the 20th century, his style changed as he experimented with different theories, techniques, and ideas. After 1906, the Fauvist work of the older artist Henri Matisse motivated Picasso to explore more radical styles, beginning a fruitful rivalry between the two artists, who subsequently were often paired by critics as the leaders of modern art.
Picasso's output, especially in his early career, is often periodized. While the names of many of his later periods are debated, the most commonly accepted periods in his work are the Blue Period (1901–1904), the Rose Period (1904–1906), the African-influenced Period (1907–1909), Analytic Cubism (1909–1912), and Synthetic Cubism (1912–1919), also referred to as the Crystal period. Much of Picasso's work of the late 1910s and early 1920s is in a neoclassical style, and his work in the mid-1920s often has characteristics of Surrealism. His later work often combines elements of his earlier styles.
Exceptionally prolific throughout the course of his long life, Picasso achieved universal renown and immense fortune for his revolutionary artistic accomplishments, and became one of the best-known figures in 20th-century art.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 9, 2017
“Birds. Some birds fly, and flies fly too! Some birds swim, and turtles swim too! Birds and so many other animals are inside this book!”
A board book that uses line drawings by Picasso to explore the world of animals. Each cream-coloured page contains illustrations of an animal ranging from birds to insects, mammals to fish. The drawings are accompanied by a simple text that either states what the animal is or what they are doing, as in “Flamingoes are birds who stand on one foot” or asks the reader a question: “Does this fox look hungry to you?” The text is interactive and allows further exploration of the illustrations. There is information about the artist – apparently there was a time when he painted everything in blue – and a double-page spread showing other examples from his sketchbooks. This is an unusual book and my immediate impression was that it would be too simplistic for young children and that they would not connect with the subtleties of Picasso’s drawings. However, my three year old granddaughter was fascinated by it, able to identify every animal and much discussion ensued. I also think that, for children who are just learning to draw, seeing animals represented in a simple way with a few lines would be quite affirming of their own attempts. The First Concepts series is a rather delightful way to introduce children to world-renowned artists; the other books in the series look at colours using the work of Matisse and Shapes using art by Albers. I hope more are planned.
Recommended for early years/reception.
A board book that uses line drawings by Picasso to explore the world of animals. Each cream-coloured page contains illustrations of an animal ranging from birds to insects, mammals to fish. The drawings are accompanied by a simple text that either states what the animal is or what they are doing, as in “Flamingoes are birds who stand on one foot” or asks the reader a question: “Does this fox look hungry to you?” The text is interactive and allows further exploration of the illustrations. There is information about the artist – apparently there was a time when he painted everything in blue – and a double-page spread showing other examples from his sketchbooks. This is an unusual book and my immediate impression was that it would be too simplistic for young children and that they would not connect with the subtleties of Picasso’s drawings. However, my three year old granddaughter was fascinated by it, able to identify every animal and much discussion ensued. I also think that, for children who are just learning to draw, seeing animals represented in a simple way with a few lines would be quite affirming of their own attempts. The First Concepts series is a rather delightful way to introduce children to world-renowned artists; the other books in the series look at colours using the work of Matisse and Shapes using art by Albers. I hope more are planned.
Recommended for early years/reception.
November 21, 2018
Birds & Other Animals with Pablo Picasso, BOARD BOOK. Phaidon Press, Inc., 2017. $10. 9780714874180
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K- OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW
Various sketches by Pablo Picasso are highlighted with sparse text. The pictures are very simplistic and take some abstract visualization to see what they represent.
For the age range that this book is geared too, I think it might be too complex. It does take some interpretation to see what is supposed to be seen. The text aids in helping identify the animals, but a lot of the captioning is superfluous and is unnecessary. There is an explanation as to who Picasso is and copies of his actual sketchbooks are shown.
Shay, High School Librarian, MLS
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K- OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW
Various sketches by Pablo Picasso are highlighted with sparse text. The pictures are very simplistic and take some abstract visualization to see what they represent.
For the age range that this book is geared too, I think it might be too complex. It does take some interpretation to see what is supposed to be seen. The text aids in helping identify the animals, but a lot of the captioning is superfluous and is unnecessary. There is an explanation as to who Picasso is and copies of his actual sketchbooks are shown.
Shay, High School Librarian, MLS
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
September 12, 2020
Interesting book to look with preschoolers when exploring art in the classroom.
March 26, 2022
Fun kids book with original Picasso sketches.
May 5, 2025
Woah!! I did not expect to love this concept but it's very very cool. Great information and thought-provoking questions, too. There's so much you could do with this book.
February 24, 2020
Birds & Other Animals with Pablo Picasso is a board book that features some simple line sketches and whimsical descriptions. The drawings, done often as a single black curving line could be replicated in twisted wire or string or similar.
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2020/comm...
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2020/comm...
April 20, 2017
From this blog post:
From Phaidon's First Concepts with Fine Artists comes Birds & Other Animals with Pablo Picasso. Each page of this board book features a simple, but perfect drawing of an animal by Picasso along with minimal text such as "Wasps like to fly, but grasshoppers prefer to hop!" that I believe is also Picasso's, but am not sure. There's a page at the end explaining who the artist was and a final spread with the sketchbook pages from which these animals came.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews