Books We Love: Philadelphia Museum of Art edition

On our recent trip to Philly we also stopped by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. So much fun to be had in this space -- I could probably write several thousand words about how well curated their collection is and how much fun it would be for littles to walk through! Instead, though, I'll write several hundred about some of the fun books we found in the gift shop and took home to read.

Kid Artists: True Tales of Childhood from Creative Legends by David Stabler. I brought this back as a souvenir for Anouk and we've been reading a chapter or two every night before bed. Who ever imagined Picasso of Van Gogh as a little kid? But it makes these greats seem very accessible and gives a hint into why they focused their art the way they did. For instance, knowing Beatrix Potter was the lonely child of rich and inattentive parents makes you really appreciate the tiny animal friends she created for herself. Knowing Theodore Geisel (AKA Dr. Seuss) was bullied mercilessly at school makes you understand why he would want to escape into a world of fun and silliness. There's a Kid Athletes and Kid Presidents volume in the series, too.




The Game of Patterns by Herve Tullet: Tullet of Press Here fame has a whole series of books that we got to play with at the museum's play area. The Game of Patterns, The Game of Finger Worms, The Game of Shapes. They were beautifully done like all of Tullet's works and a nice break from ducks and rabbits and traditional board book fare.



A is for Art Museum by Katy Friedland. Alphabet books are nothing new but this one highlights a masterpiece seen at PMA for each letter. The text also helps children begin to understand how to see and talk about art. (Next to Picasso's Three Musicians: "M is for music. Three men dressed in costumes play music. Can you see the circles and lines of their musical notes?") Friedland's other books is Art Opposites which also focuses on the PMA collection.

I wish we could go back to Philadelphia Museum of Art soon because their Wild: Mike Nichols exhibit opens at the end of June with tons of photographs of the natural world and creatures in it. If you can't make it either, see a trailer for the exhibit here.