Books for the Arts

Disclosure: I was sent these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Looking for some educational books for kids? Today we look at a bit of the arts--grammar, poetry, art, crafts, history. Our first book is Origami and Haiku: Inspired by Japanese Artwork illustrated by the Trustees of the British Museum. 

This beautiful book presents thirteen pieces of Japanese artwork and with each there is a haiku and an origami project. Then in the back of the book there is information about the thirteen pieces of art and fifty pages of origami paper. The origami instructions are illustrated and easy to follow. I wish the origami paper was perforated. 

All thirteen of the origami projects are rated for difficulty. I love how the book combines the Japanese artwork with a haiku (in the pink bubble), the Japanese words and the origami project. What a wonderful look at the Japanese culture. This is a gorgeous book and reaches so many different aspects. 

Our next book is Sing a Song of Seasons: A Nature Poem for Each Day of the Year selected by Fiona Waters and illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon. This beautiful book is divided by months and there is a poem to read for each day of the year. There are a large variety of poets in this book including Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, as well as Margaret Brown Wise and so many more. The pages are filled with poems as well as beautiful illustrations to go with the feeling of the poems.

This book is full of poems to start each day with a look at nature and time together. 

Looking for a fun way to teach grammar? This next book is for you. It is The Great Grammar Book by Kate Petty and illustrated by Jennie Maizels. This book has lift the flaps, games and so much more. It covers parts of speech like nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. Then it talks about prepositions and conjunctions and plurals and possessives and ends with punctuation and sentences. The book is recommended for ages 7 through 10. It definitely puts some fun into learning grammar. I know many kids (and adults) don't find grammar too exciting.

Our next book takes a look at crafts and history. It is Made by Hand: A Crafts Sampler by Carole Lexa Schaefer and illustrated by Becca Stadtlander. Take a step back in time when things were made by hand at home. Let's look at objects that someone spent time creating. Objects like a globe (hand drawn), candle box, pie crimper, rocking horse, sled, butter churn, sampler, bandolier bag, Valentine and more are explained how they were made with a simple verse and then the details are explained some specific about the actual person and others perhaps fictional based on possibilities of history. This book teaches not only the history but also a bit about some treasured objects of the past. I also love that there are illustrations and objects from different cultures in America. This book is recommended for ages 8 to 12. 

At the end of the book there is a photograph of the actual objects that inspired each page in this book with information about the real-life object. What a treasure of United States history.

Speaking of history, our next book is another book in the Thrifty Guide for Time Travelers is back. Our next book is The Thrifty Guide to Ancient Greece: A Handbook for Time Travelers by Jonathan W. Stokes and illustrated by Xavier Bonet. With the humor of the entire series learn all about life in Ancient Greece. Learn about all the amazing things the Greeks brought us as well as some of the famous Greeks like Archimedes, Euclid, Hippocrates, and more. The reader also learns about the different city states and how different each was. How the men and women dressed and behaved and so much more. This book has it all and delivers it in an entertaining and very funny manner. Like the other books in the series, this one delivers the humor and information. 

Well if you are looking for books to add some study of the arts to your homeschool, afterschool or just for fun, be sure to check these books out plus they make great holiday gifts!!