100 Great Children's Books

The New York Public Library published a list of the 100 Best Children's Books of all time.  We've read about 1/3 of them (33 out of 100).   Some of our current faves are Frog and Toad, Millions of Cats and Pink and Say.


This definitely gives us some inspiration for our library visits.  At our library, we order our materials online and have them delivered to our local branch.  I'm emailed when the order arrives and I can just pick them up.  It's such a wonderful system and I think without it, we wouldn't be such avid readers!  What's your reading & book buying style?

FOR ALL THE BUBBLE TEA IN CHINA

A few weeks ago, we went to Chinatown for the day.  Before we left the house, we read "The Story About Ping" by Marjorie Flack which takes place on the Yangtze River in China.  This story about a duck that gets lost from his crew, set the stage for an adventure filled day.  (Just a forewarning though-- the book is from an time long long ago where the word "spanking" is used without a second thought.  But the illustrations and story are so classic that I have to recommend it anyways.)  Just like Ping, we got lost in a new neighborhood and saw all sorts of strange birds- and other delicious treats and eats!  You can read all about our exploration at Brooklyn Based.

PLAE AT THE MET

Get an extra 20% off...see how at the end of the post

One thing about visiting so many museums with my preschooler, is that he's just at the cusp of stroller versus no stroller.  For long treks, I usually opt for the stroller and let him walk when we arrive.  As a born and bred New Yorker, he usually has a pretty good attitude about doing a hefty amount of walking.  But it usually means, I have to go overboard in making sure that his clothes, shoes, sun protection are in tip top shape and he is well fed to prevent potential meltdowns.  This week we test drove the new line of adorable shoes from Plae (see my earlier post about the brand here) and went to the most exhausting museum of all, the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  This behometh monster of a museum can bring the average tourist to their knees, so I knew it would be a good test of both shoe and stamina!

My son is already enamored with the sneakers.  Although they look cute in the photos, they look even hipper in real life.  The best part is they come in different colors with remove-able velcro tabs (straps) that can be swapped out to match any mood.  We were pleasantly surprised with how easy it is to change these tabs out.  For a control obsessed toddler, this is a dream come true.  On this fine summer day, my son color coordinated with his Michael Jackson shirt and away we went to check out the Ken Price sculpture retrospective at the Met.

This Frank Gehry designed exhibit (he was a BFF of the late artist), is a retrospective of Ken Price's life's work: mostly organically shaped ceramic sculptures that look almost other worldly in their smoothness.  The glazed objects are beautiful and are basically begging to be touched by little dirty fingers.  To avoid this, my son got a piggy back ride through the exhibit to prevent a disaster of epic proportions.   

The key to the Met is taking frequent breaks and not looking at too much art in one day.  After the beauty of Ken Price, we decided to take a snack break on the roof.  Champagne for mom and dad, and water and pretzels for Lincoln, helped keep up our energy levels.  Our son is currently taking hip-hop dance lessons, and he showed off some of his moves for us (and the scores of out of towner onlookers.)  Before he started busking, we took a bathroom break and finished off with the modern wing at the Met.  While my sandals were already starting to pinch, Lincoln seemed to be bouncing off the walls in his Plae kicks.  Modern greats Giacometti, Picasso, Bacon are all represented here.  It's easy to forget that the Met even has a modern collection, but given it's size and scope, it really does have everything under one roof.  A few hours in the museum was enough for us, but surprisingly Lincoln still had energy to burn.  We headed into the great lawn at Central Park and let him run loose as he zig zagged across the meadow.  Eventually, he tired himself out and joined us where we lay exhausted on the ground.  Even when we got home though, he refused to take off the new shoes.  

P.S. The folk at Plae are extending their Back-to-School offer for readers.  Through 9/2, you can get your child their own pair of these fly new sneaks for an extra 20% off just by using the code AS76 at check out.  

Lions and Tigers and Meter Maids, Oh My!

Last week, we checked out the Prospect Park Zoo for the website, Brooklyn Based.  Temperatures were running high, and we realized that it might be a good time for summer to come to a close.  Check out a review of out time here.  My son is really really really into animals, and we have enough Schleich animal figurines to appease Noah and his ark.  All day long we make animal noises, sort what habitats animals live, and make up animal yoga poses.  I'm looking forward to the day we can study mammals closer with The Burgess Animal Book, which I've had so many people recommend to me.  We tried listening to it (free on LibriVox!) and Lincoln was bored to tears.  But for those with older animal lovers- it's a free resource, in the form of an audiobook, that teaches about all sorts of mammals.  Additionally, there are websites that have accompanying coloring pages, etc.

LINKS OF THE DAY

photo: NY Times

*This week's NY Times Magazine had a beautifully written article about a naturalist artist who happens to be a close family friend of my husband's.  Beyond the personal connection, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of Carmen Almon's art.  For anyone interested in nature or beauty, this is a wonderful read.  Children of all ages will be enthralled by the pure magic of her flowers.  And what inspiration for going on a nature walk to enjoy the upcoming autumn months and the botany that arrives with the changing of the seasons!

photo: NY Times

*An interesting project is being funded by the artist Marina Abramovic on Kickstarter.  (If you haven't already donated to the campaign, the kickstarter is now closed.)  But since the money was raised ($661,452!!!) we can look forward to the Marina Abramovic Institute: a Performance and Education Center that will be located in Hudson, NY.  For those unfamiliar with the performance artist, I suggest an evening with the recent documentary Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present, that can be rented from Netflix.  People who saw her eye gazing performance at the MOMA retrospective have called it an almost religious experience.  After watching the film, I was definitely sipping the Kool Aid!  It's not a film for kids (there is nudity and adult content), but it does have some good perspective on the eternal burning question "What is Art?"  If art is making the viewer feel something, then Marina Abramovic may be one of the greatest artist of our times.  People were leaving the MOMA weeping and many, many people came back to see her again and again even with lines that wrapped around the block for hours.  I'm looking forward to seeing what grows out of Hudson.  

Marina Abramovic at the MOMA

GO PLAE: 20% OFF MUSEUM STOMPING SHOES

My son and I are always on the move checking out museums and now that he is getting to be too big for the stroller, his footwear is on the forefront of my mind.  Currently, he's rocking some navy Natives, which look like Croc boat shoes.  He calls them his "tapshoes" but if he ever tried dancing in them, they would fall right off his feet.  So, when the nice peeps at PLAE asked if we wanted to roadtest their line of mixable matchable shoes, we were psyched!  Founder Ryan Ringholz (who designed for Puma, Diesel and Uggs) enlisted an orthopedic surgeon to ensure a line of kids's shoes that were not just cool, but also will assist developing feet.  I'll give a full update of the test run, but in the meantime to celebrate their launch, they are giving readers a 20% deal starting today on all shoes and accompanying fashion tabs.  Our readers can use the code AS76 for 20% off all shoes through 8/30  9/2 to celebrate Back-T0-School!  If you love the idea as much as we do, join their facebook page and tell your friends.  

BRUCE HIGH QUALITY FOUNDATION

We recently explored the Bruce High Quality Foundation exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum for Brooklyn Based.  One of the things that really intrigued me about their show was the BHHQ University that the collective started on Avenue.  Folks, this is FREE arts education completely funded by the collective and their supporters.  Since other people have also asked for more information on this crazy avant garde idea, I wanted to post a few links for those who want to delve deeper and research this extraordinary opportunity.  The Fall classes will be starting soon and information will be up soon on the site.  Check it out and see if it's right for you or anyone you know.  I fully support anyone doing anything with free quality education of any form, but these guys seem to have a handle on how to run the art world- so learning from them would send you to the top of the class.  Start shining those apples.

Bruce High Quality University Fall 2013 information

Galleryist checks out a class and lives to tell about it

A Photo Student blog has a lot of information

Phaidon article about BHQU

WHALE OF A TIME

via Brooklyn Based/The American Museum of Natural History

Summer heat is stifling in New York and sometimes it's impossible to get out of town.  For weekends like this, we get our beach fix by heading to the American Museum of Natural History.  Last month I wrote all about our trip for Brooklyn Based.  

Additionally, starting in September your child can enter the essay contest about the exhibit.  It's a great opportunity for your child to show off their non-fiction writing chops and the winners are divided by grade so they will all be competing against their peers.  The child will have to visit between September and January and submit the essay with school signatures.  But, this may be a good thing to get a start on the school year and ease out of the summer slump!

The LeFrak Class of the Month Essay Contest invites New York City students in grades K-8 to submit essays about their Museum visit to the LeFrak Family Gallery, where this fall they can experience Whales: Giants of the Deep.

ART I HEART

This week is National Lighthouse Day!  These beautiful, regal structures always make me think of summer.  So, here's a few of my favorite paintings on the subject.

Claude Monet

 Edward Hopper

Georges Seurat

 Pablo Picasso

Salvador Dali

PRIMITIVE PAINTING

Joe Bradley, Lotus Beaters (Installation View), courtesy of Gavin Brown’s Enterprise

JOE BRADLEY: LOTUS BEATERS
GAVIN BROWN ENTERPRISES

A month ago Joe Bradley had a mostly abstract show at the Gavin Brown Enterprises Gallery.  His body of work is mostly known for being unlike any of his previous work-- Lego robot paintings, Egyptian hieroglyphics, cave paintings, and now abstract blobs on stitched together canvases that are complete with footprints and other studio debris.  Additionally, a wall of crude line drawings that taken together feel like looking at visual jazz.  

QUESTIONS TO ASK:

1. What do you think the artist was trying to portray with these drawings?
2. How do these drawings make you feel?
3. How many of these drawings can you call "figurative"?
4. The artist uses a technique to make these crude-- he is not untrained.  Yet, he captures a childlike spirit of an untrained artist.  Talk about that dynamic.

LINKS TO DIG DEEPER:

*An interview between Interview Magazine and Joe Bradley

*Gavin Brown Enterprise 

EXTENSION:

The original crude art was found in paleolithic caves.  Most of these examples featured animals and hunting.  They painted about the world around them and what was most important to their everyday lives.  Cave artists used twigs and berries to paint these primitive explorations on the walls.  Work with your children to make their own cave drawings.  What topic is most important to your child?  Encourage them to choose subjects that are important to them and can be used to communicate something to the viewer.  Ann Arbor Art Center has some ideas about materials to use to emulate an actual cave drawing.  But as Joe Bradley shows us, it's not necessary to be on a cave to have the full impact of a crude sketch.  

PIER PRESSURE

photo: Meredith Craig de Pietro

Photo: Ilona Szwarc

Read about my family's sweaty walk through the new "al fresco" THE FENCE at Photoville Art Exhibit that I wrote for the website Brooklyn Based Kids.  Definitely see the show this summer, but bring water and sunscreen!

MIRACLE WORKERS

photo: Alabama Deafblind Project 

 photo: Alabama Deafblind Project

Photo: Alabama Deafblind Project

In celebration of Helen Keller's birthday, I wanted to write about the Helen Keller International Art Show, which is sponsored by the Council for Exceptional Children Division on Visual Impairments and the University of Alabama at Birmingham Vision Science Research Center and School of Education.  The Alabama Deafblind Project claims it "was established in 1983 as a cooperative project between agencies serving children with visual impairments."  The emphasis is on creativity and tactile mediums-- and the results are interesting in their diversity and assumed therapy.  The winning pieces go on to travel around galleries in Alabama.  

KIDS SKETCHBOOK CHALLENGE 10

artist: lincoln, 3

In this sketchbook challenge, we are drawing/ painting/ creating based off a new theme each week.  This week we focused on MOST RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENT.  I would have been so happy for this to be throwing away all of the pull ups, but alas (!) that accomplishment has still yet to happen.  Im hoping that on our two week vacation when he can wear just a bathing suit, that he will get the gist of it.  If anyone has any pointers, I'm all ears!!  Anyways, the accomplishment he chose to write about was very recent: he ate his whole breakfast.  Although that breakfast was gluten-free blueberry pancakes, he chose to reinterpret this as "cake and treats!"  Next week, let's illustrate our FAVORITE ANIMAL.

LINK OF INTEREST

photo: NY Times

photo: NY Times

This week, the Metropolitan Museum of Art will discontinue it's iconic metal admission buttons.  This NY tourist stamp came to symbolize the sophistication of the leviathan museums that dot the city.  Now that they are going the way of the subway token, we'll realize how much they will be missed.  

LONG TIME, NO WRITE

Sorry to not be updating in a regular fashion this last month.  My son graduated preschool, I've been working on a few other things, started jogging, and generally have had less time to write!  But don't worry, things have settled down and you can expect updates going forward.  There's so much warm weather art to share and topics that I've been meaning to bring up.  Happy start of summer!

MoCADA MUSEUM

This week we checked out the exhibit "eMERGING: Visual Art and Music in a Post Hip-Hop Era" at the MoCADA Museum in Fort Greene for the website Brooklyn Based.    It's a muti media showcase with videos to watch, music to listen to and sculptures to explore.  Read about our play date and definitely check out the exhibit on your own!

OH GEE, BARRY MCGEE!

BARRY MCGEE : MURAL

Mark Morris Dance Center

Fort Greene, Brooklyn

A bright spot in an already vibrant neighborhood is this new Barry McGee mural!  This San Francisco based artist and graffiti artist is known for his iconic look.  For his fans, this large scale piece was instantly recognizable.  It looks like a high tech mosiac-- with some amazing saturated colors!

QUESTIONS TO ASK:

1. What colors do you see?  Which colors stand out the most?  How do you think he chose the color scheme?  (Primary, Secondary...)

2.  Barry McGee once said: "Compelling art to me is a name carved into a tree."  What do you think he meant by that?

3. What do you think the words mean in this piece?  (Hint: watch the video below to find out...)

4. WHat is the difference between being a street artist and a fine artist?  Is it possible to be both?

5. How does this mural reflect what takes place inside the Mark Morris Dance Studio?

LINKS TO DIVE DEEPER:

* Video about making the Brooklyn mural

* PBS Art 21 segment on Barry McGee & Margaret Kilgallen

EXTENSIONS:

There is a full Barry McGee retrospective at the ICA in Boston, which we plan on definitely checking out this summer.  I will keep you posted on our take on it, but if you are in the New England area over the hot blazing NYC days- definitely take a look!

KIDS SKETCHBOOK CHALLENGE 9

In this sketchbook challenge, we are drawing/ painting/ creating based off a new theme each week.  This week we focused on FAVORITE CANDY.  With Easter still on the forefront of his mind, my son chose a reinterpretation of the classic chocolate bunny.  Choco-holism runs in his genes, unfortunately.  When we were recently in LA, my main mission was to stock up on Almonds & Sea Salt chocolate bars by ChocoVivo which don't sell in NYC (yet.)  Next week, let's try to create something that shows off a "Most Recent Accomplishment."  In our house, hopefully that will be potty training!

LINK OF INTEREST

If Mother's Day is about the sacrifice that mom's make for their children, what better way to pay tribute to that than with our own health.  I applaud Angelina Jolie for coming public [in her NY Times Op-Ed about her preventative double mastectomy] with her own battle for health and time on Earth to spend with her family.  This is the new warrior: Mom.

The Learning Blog at the NY Times has some questions to review while reading and researching this op-ed piece.  These might be interesting and informative for older kids.  Plus, this is a great resource for reading the news with your kids.

Angelina Jolie’s ‘My Medical Choice’

By KATHERINE SCHULTEN

• 
  

Note: As a general rule, we don’t use Op-Eds for this feature — but, as a general rule, movie stars don’t break news by writing them. Given the content of, and the response to, this piece, we thought an exception was warranted.

Have students read Angelina Jolie’s “My Medical Choice” to answer the questions below. For more on the issue, they might also read Denise Grady’s “Jolie’s Disclosure Highlights a Breast Cancer Dilemma.”

WHO is Angelina Jolie?

WHAT is an Op-Ed?
WHAT are BRCA mutations?
WHAT did Ms. Jolie’s doctors estimate was her risk of developing breast cancer?
WHAT did she do to “be proactive” and minimize her risk?

WHEN did Ms. Jolie begin the medical process, and WHEN did it end?

WHERE was Ms. Jolie treated?

WHY, according to her essay, did Ms. Jolie have the procedure?
WHY does she say she decided not to keep her decision private?

HOW many people does breast cancer kill each year, according to the World Health Organization?
HOW do you feel about Ms. Jolie’s medical choice?
HOW do you feel about her decision to tell the world about it through a New York Times Op-Ed?

TRANSIT MUSEUM

This week we checked out the New York Transit Museum for the website Brooklyn Based.  A great place to spend the afternoon, it's also an under the rader spot for interesting exhibits.  Check out the review and comment about what your favorite part of the museum is. 

The Transit Museum also has a lot of free educational resources on their website for all different ages.  Here's a few examples that you can do with your preschoolers.

• I Like to Ride…Have students draw a picture of their favorite type of transportation to travel in and then write a few words or a sentence to describe it.  Completed pictures can also be used for sorting and classifying activities.
• The ABCs of TravelHelp students compile an alphabet list of various modes of transport.  For example, A = airplane, B = bus, C = car, D = donkey, E = elevator, etc.  See how many words students can generate for each letter.  Create a class alphabet book, with each student illustrating a page or two using drawings, collage materials, or digital means.
• Mosaic MakersOrnamentation has always been a part of subway station construction. Show students images of mosaics and plaques from various stations, or if possible, arrange a visit to a subway station in your neighborhood to see the artwork in person.  Ask students why they think subway stations have ceramic ornamentation.  How might the artwork be helpful, in addition to being pretty and colorful?  Provide students with small squares of paper to use in making their own mosaics.  What pictures or words will their artwork convey?  See our Online Gallery Talk entitled "Subway Style" for an in-depth look at subway mosaics with museum experts and curators.
• Stand Clear of the Closing DoorsHelp students compile a list of rules for safe travel on subways and buses.  What warning signs and safety announcements have they seen and heard on public transportation?   Have them design their own signs and posters for safe travel.

ART I HEART

Don't forget Mother's Day is this weekend!  Here's to celebrating all the mom's we know!

Albert Aublet (via iamachild.wordpress)

Alex Colville (via iamachild.wordpress)

 Diego Rivera (via Diego Rivera Foundation)

Giovanni Giacometti (via iamachild.wordpress)

Mary Cassatt (via Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Fernand Leger (via Wikipaintings)

KIDS SKETCHBOOK CHALLENGE 8

Artist: Lincoln, age 3

In this sketchbook challenge, we are drawing/ painting/ creating based off a new theme each week.  This week we focused on FAVORITE SONG.  Recently this has been my son's favorite favorite past time.  He sits on the couch and listens to CD's, following along with the liner notes.  Because of the sheer volume of music he's been listening to, and my reluctance to hear the same songs over and over again, this new phase had me going bonkers.  But then I re-discovered Spotify!  Although, of course, I had listened to my own music on it- I never thought of it for kids music.  I'm letting the secret out: it is a treasure trove of children's music, everything from Wee Sing Fingerplays to They Might Be Giants.  My son is in heaven and I don't have to bash my head against the wall with the 70th re-listening of Music Together.  For this challenge, Lincoln chose a song by Raffi called "Baby Beluga" which is about a whale.  He even drew a picture of the play button on the computer to exemplify that this is a 'song' not just a 'picture'.  Next week, let's illustrate our FAVORITE CANDY.