Touch the Art. Brush Mona Lisa's Hair Touch the Art

Customer Reviews

Not nearly as good as Pop Top 123

2008-05-19
We'd been given Pop Top 123. What a wonderful book. Being a mom of a 3-year old, and having an interest in art history, I decided to buy all the books in the series. The rest of the books are ok. None nearly as well written and engaging as Pop Top. The art is wonderful. The tactile areas are ok. The story, not so engaging. Stick with Pop Top 123.

great touch and feel art book!

2008-04-16
We love this book! Brush Mona Lisa's hair has works of art that remind me of an art history class I took in college, but with touch and feel! My daughters (3 yrs old and 18 months old) love books so we have alot of them, and this one is a winner!
This book includes:
Mona Lisa- Leonardo Da Vinci
Price Balthasar Carlos on Horseback- Diego Velazquez
The Birth of Venus- Sandro Botticelli
The Laughing Cavalier- Frans Hals
The Arnolfini Portrait- Jan van Eyck
Portraits of Federico da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza and Their Triumph- Piero della Francesca
Girl with a Peal Earring- Johannes Vermeer
The Card Sharp- Georges de la Tour
Sistine Madonna- Raphael
At the end of the book the authors have included a short paragraph about each work of art and the artist who created it.
As with all the books in this series, the art is the star of the book- the words are secondary, and that's fine in this case. The "story line" in this book isn't amazing, and while that would usually annoy me, it doesn't matter much since the touch and feel famous works of art concept is so fantastic! Its a book I love looking at as well as my kids!

Better concept that realization

2007-12-11
I ordered these books for my niece and nephew based on online descriptions only. I had hoped for truly interactive books, based on titles like "Brush Mona Lisa's Hair". Imagine, a full head of hair on Mona Lisa, with a little brush attached. Hours of fun for a little girl. Instead, there's a tiny little window in which the hair can be felt, though no chance of brushing it. Same goes for the other titles. Mediocre pop-up books, at best. Great concept, poor execution.

Wonderful for art lovers and their children

2007-08-12
A lovely book from a lovely series of four--my favorites are this one and "Make Van Gogh's Bed." If you are an art lover and want your child to share your enjoyment, this is a great way to pass on some culture in a fun and low-pressure way. They will recognize the art works just because they have seen them in a book, and you will enjoy reading these books again and again. Wish there were more.

Disappointed

2007-04-19
I was so excited to get this book. What a fantastic idea - teaching kids about great art from a young age. The selections were good, the textures (Mona Lisa's hair, the trim on the coat of van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait) are appealing. I appreciated the factual blurb with dates, artist information, etc - great for the adult reader. BUT, the actual text is SO uninspired and flat. I love the cadence of Dr. Suess and Shel Silverstein and love reading them over and over. Julie Appel's text is awkward and boring. After reading it once, I find I pass it by more often than not. I hope someone takes this general idea and makes a more interesting version.

My Three Year Old Loves this Book

2006-11-21

The mysterious Mona Lisa could use a little grooming—so go ahead and brush her long black hair! Continue with the Old Masters by touching the large, lacy collar of Frans Hals’ The Laughing Cavalier, petting the horse’s tail in Velazquez’s Prince Baltasar Carlos on Horseback, and arranging the snappy elastic hair in Boticcelli’s The Birth of Venus. Other paintings come from Vermeer, de la Tour, Raphael, and Van Eyck.

Lovely books

2006-11-14
My 7 and 9 year-old girls fell in love with this and another of her books, Make Van Gogh's Bed, yesterday at a bookstore. They were entranced and spent a lot of time looking at them. They insisted we buy these as a gift for their 4-year-old cousin. I hope their cousin is as excited by art as my girls are, but if she isn't, these books will be an excellent introduction.

Visually and tactilely appealing - great introduction to master works of art

2006-10-31
I gave this as a present and was pleased to see how my nephew interacted with it. He loved to "touch the art" and I like to look at great works of art; in other words it was fun for both of us. The book features iconic works of art with the vital stats on the paintings - so it's a good art history intro/refresher for adults while being a fun introduction to great art for kids.