Mary Cassatt: Family Pictures

Smart About Art

by Jane O'Connor, Jennifer Kalis (Illustrator)

Mary Cassatt is most famous for her paintings of mothers and babies, and that's what first attracts "Claire" because she has a new baby sister. But through research for her class report Claire learns many surprising facts about she was an American who lived in France nearly all her life, she never married or had children herself, and she became a professional artist at a time when respectable ladies simply did not do that! With beautiful reproductions of Mary Cassatt's best-loved paintings as well as lively childlike pictures that illustrate her life, this Smart About Art book gives children a wonderful "portrait" of a great artist and fascinating woman.

Illustrated by Jennifer Kalis.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Childrens, Biography

32 pages, Paperback

First published April 14, 2003

About the author

Since the publication of Fancy Nancy, Jane O'Connor's closet now boasts so many boas, tiaras, and sparkly ensembles that sometimes friends do not recognize her on the street. She still resides (that's a fancy word for lives) in New York City with her family and their canine companion, Arrow. --from the publisher's website

Reviews

[Janet]

Written a school child writing a report about Mary Cassatt, the American artist, who became a part of the French impressionist movement in the late 1800’s. The strength of this brief title is the the inclusion of a number of Cassatt’s throughout the text and the reproduction is lovely in the richness of the colors. The drawback to the reproductions is the title and credits given below the paintings, they are so minute as to be almost unreadable and there was no appended material to list the paintings featured.
I need another title to read about Mary Cassatt.

[Child960801]

Written as if it were a school report by a young student, this book has lots of biographical details about Mary Cassatt as well as several reproductions of her works.

[Sam]

Charmingly written as a child's school report on a famous artist. Less meat, but more eye-catching for the young or reluctant reader.

[Megan]

These are awesome mini bio's about famous artists, written in the format of an informal child's book report. Great way to introduce elementary age kids to the arts!