Art All around Us by Xiao Situ

Art All Around Us introduces young readers to the nearly infinite variety of art and its meaning in ordinary life.

Art All around Us: A Kid’s Guide to Finding Art in Everyday Life by Xiao Situ. Union Square Kids, 2024, 144 pages including glossary and index.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12

Recommended for: ages 8-14

The title is meant to be taken literally, as the author shows how art surrounds us in widening spheres. That idea also serves as the organizing principle of the book: from art about the individual self, expanding to include the family, the community, the society, the earth (nature), and the cosmos. This is an interesting approach, not just in format but in content. We tend to think of “art” as painting, sculpture, photographs, and graphics, but this approach includes a variety of artefacts as well: clothing, dishes, jewelry, toys, furniture, architecture, cityscapes, even cosmetics.

The selections span continents, cultures, and centuries. Interactive activities invite children to think about what they’re seeing. Often the facing works on a double-page spread will have similarities, so comparisons are in order. Other activities involve imagining, observing, or imitating. The artworks are mostly inoffensive, though parents may want to be aware of a painting by diPaolo, The Creation of the World and Expulsion from Paradise, where nearly-naked figures of Adam and Eve are driven out of the garden by an avenging angel. It’s not a book to read straight through, but a browse-able exercise in expanding our views of “art.” Christian parents will want to emphasize that creation in God’s image means we’re all artists of one sort or another.

Bottom Line: An engaging interactive tour of art through all ages and cultures.

Also at Redeemed Reader:

• Resource: Browse our archives for more books related to the many forms of creative expression.
• Review: An Eye For Art features painters and their work represented in the National Gallery of Washington D.C.
• Reflection: Megan recalls The Delights of Childcraft.

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