A is for Artist: A Getty Museum Alphabet, by the J. Paul Getty Museum

J. Paul Getty Museum. A is for Artist: A Getty Museum Alphabet. J. Paul Getty Museum, 1997. 64 pages. $16.95, ISBN 0-89236-377-0

AGE LEVEL
1 and 2 year-olds

GENRE
Nonfiction (alphabet, painting)

REVIEW
For each letter of the alphabet, this book includes a two-page spread.  One panel shows the letter boldly printed in huge colored font, along with a word that begins with this letter: "J is for jar," "N is for nut," "Y is for yawn," etc.  On the opposite panel is a small portion of a painting from the Getty's collection which illustrates the word.  In most cases, the images are very clear, and the object of focus cannot be missed.   The works of well-known artists such as Renoir, Alma Tadema, and Van Gogh are included, and striking works by lesser-known artists such as Van Huysum, Ensor, and Batoni are also in the book.  The name of the artist, their nationality, birth and death dates, and the name and date of the painting are given in fine print on the page with the letter.  Although the book does include some words which many young children will not have heard before, such as "tambourine" and "quill", the majority of words (e.g., "egg", "key", "grape", etc.) are those familiar in a young child's world, making this book suitable for 1 and 2 year olds.  Some of the paintings are a little bit dark in tone (color), but this does not detract from the book's overall appeal.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
Toddlers can create their own paintings after a read-aloud of this book.