cover image A Short Walk Around the Pyramids & Through the World of Art: Reissue; ALA Notable Children's Book

A Short Walk Around the Pyramids & Through the World of Art: Reissue; ALA Notable Children's Book

Philip M. Isaacson, Philp M. Isaacson, Phillip M. Isaacson. Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, $26.25 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-679-81523-5

Exuding a sincere appreciation for the emotional impact of art, Isaacson's vividly eclectic tour from the pyramids to a magically photographed New York City forms an outstanding introduction to the rewards of looking at art. More than 70 beautifully presented examples acquaint readers with painting, sculpture, crafts, industrial design, photography and city planning--from Elgin Marble fragments to a Shaker village in Maine, from a Jackson Pollack drip painting to a Peruvian poncho. Simple but eloquent descriptions touch on color, form and the power of art to communicate across both centuries and cultures. The graceful layout allows ample opportunity for reflection stimulated by Isaacson's gentle observations on the links between a West African tribal funerary figure and a Jacques Lipchitz bronze, or on the sinuous harmony of a Karmann Ghia automobile photographed in front of the Guggenheim Museum. ``Art will make our hearts leap,'' he writes, and proves it on every page. Ages 8-12. (Oct.)