cover image Meet Edgar Degas

Meet Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas, Annie Newlands, Anne Newlands. J.P. Lippincott, $13.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-397-32369-2

Produced in conjunction with a recent retrospective of Degas, this book was designed to introduce children to the artist. Newlands uses the device of having Degas himself ``speak'' directly to the reader, explaining 15 of his works. This is a somewhat tricky and risky maneuver, but Newlands pulls it off--the artist's ``voice'' rings true as he explains such subjects as his self-portrait, painted when he was just 23, and progresses through a sampling of many of his subjects: dancers, jockeys, bathers, family and friends. The author has done a fine job of selecting paintings (and one sculpture) that are particularly revealing about Degas, his life and his beloved Paris; readers will get a genuine sense of what motivated and inspired his art. The text is clear and informative, offering details that will interest adults as well as children. All ages. (Mar.)