The history of art From ancient to modern times

Gr 4-7-This ambitious volume attempts to cover the entire history of the world's art. The book has plentiful, varied full-color illustrations and reproductions with picture captions (textual sound bites). While the design is appealing, this choice of format affords a small amount of narrative that makes covering such a broad topic even more challenging. The author lists artists that deserve at least a mention, but there are still notable exclusions (C‚zanne). The excellent artwork includes reconstructive drawings that capture a Renaissance artist's workshop, a Mayan temple complex, and a Chinese emperor's tomb. The detailed descriptions of artistic processes, such as mosaic and fresco, are another noteworthy feature. The book includes chapters on Asia, Africa, and the Americas. This title is aimed at a younger audience than H. W. Janson's History of Art for Young People, which covers just Western art. The best introduction to art for this age group is Joy Richardson's Looking at Pictures (both Abrams, 1997), which employs a thematic approach and a livelier writing style, not even attempting to cover such a broad period of history. An additional purchase for most libraries.-Robin L. Gibson, Muskingum County Library System, Zanesville, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Double-page spreads, divided into eight geographical sections, feature a large central illustration surrounded by captions, small reproductions of art and artifacts, and a boxed reproduction with text. The information is too unfocused and anecdotal even for browsing; reproductions are too small to see details mentioned in the text; specific locations of some featured monuments and artists are unidentified. Ind. From HORN BOOK Fall 2000, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.