7 Great Children’s Books About Art That Just May Inspire the Next Generation of Wee Warhols

“All children are artists,” Picasso famously said. “The problem
is how to stay an artist when the child grows up.”

It’s true: kids don’t need much encouragement when it comes to
making art. Put a brush in their hand and some (ideally non-toxic)
paint in their vicinity, and most children will go to town covering
any surface in front of them.

But it’s all too easy for kids to give up on their own artistic
abilities with age. That’s why showing them models of other
artists’ who have cultivated a lifelong relationship with
creativity might inspire them to do the same, and to see art making
as an exciting and essential aspect of life. So, to inspire the
little ones in your life, we’ve rounded up our favorite artist
books for kids.

Linnea in Monet’s
Garden

Age Range: 6 and up

Starting with a personal favorite: I
was obsessed with this book as a kid.
It’s the story of a little girl named Linnea who befriends a kindly
neighbor named Mr. Bloom, who teaches her all about the painter
Claude Monet and the “blobby” style of painting called 
Impressionism. The story culminates in the two of them taking a
trip to Paris, where they end up visiting not just Monet’s house
and gardens in Giverny, but the Orangerie and the Musée d’Orsay,
too.

It’s all very charming and features a
good deal of art-historical nerding out. It also had the effect of
instilling in me an intense fascination with painting, France, and
travel in general—a positive outcome, in my estimation.

Buy it now for
$12

Grandpa and the Library:
How Charles White Learned to Paint

Age Range: 6 and up

When I was little, I liked stories about the logistics of
how people did things or got good at things. This lovingly
illustrated book does just that, through the story of how a young
Charles White taught himself how to draw and observe the world
through picture books in the Chicago Public Library, and went on to
become a singular artistic voice of the 20th century.

Published in conjunction with the Charles White retrospective at
New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 2018, this 40-page volume offers
a wonderful introduction to the making of a great painter, and
includes an appendix of additional biographical information and
suggested reading for adults, too.

Buy it now for
$13.50

Action
Jackson

Age Range: 6–10 years

Jackson Pollock might not be the most obvious choice for a
children’s book protagonist—what with his drinking problem and
untimely end—but this punchy book succeeds in making him an
age-appropriate and compelling subject. It does so by narrowing its
focus to a singular period in the artist’s life: when he painted
his magnum opus, Lavender Mist.

“Some of this account is imagined,” the foreword cautions. “We
don’t know if the sequence of events during months of May and June
1950 was exactly as we have described it.” But the authors assure
us they based their narrative on first-hand accounts, and the
resulting story is vivid and full of great little details. I also
love the wiry, frenetic line work of the accompanying illustrations
to capture Pollock’s macho energy.

Buy it now for
$9

Yayoi Kusama: From Here to
Infinity

Age Range: 4–8 years

Yayoi Kusama’s pumpkins and polka dots sometimes feel like the
stuff of imaginative childhood dreams—an idea the authors have
lovingly taken advantage of here. High-contrast illustrations by
Ellen Weinstein capture the playful side of Kusama’s art, while the
story, expertly written by Sarah Suzuki, a MoMA curator of drawings
and prints, tells a kid-friendly version of the artist’s life.
Though the book chooses to largely side-step some of the more
challenging elements of Kusama’s biography, it still manages to
bring her art to life in a way that’s accessible, engaging, and
inspiring.

Buy it for
$15 

Frida Kahlo and Her
Animalitos

Age Range: 4–8 years

Take a zoological journey into the world of Frida Kahlo, where
the artist’s pets take center stage. Frida Kahlo and Her
Animalitos explores the personal and
symbolic relationships of animals in Kahlo’s life and art, drawing
from both her biography and the content of her narrative paintings.
If your child is obsessed with the creatures of the natural world,
then this book is likely to be a hit.

The best part of it all is the book’s art, for which illustrator
John Para painted on rough wood panels for an especially warm and
textural feel. Note that there’s also a Spanish-language
version, too!

Buy it now for
$13

Henri’s
Scissors

Age Range: 3 and
up

Written for very young children, Henri Matisse appears as an
almost wizardly figure in this book, discovering a magic wand in
the form of a pair of humble scissors that allowed him to transform
colored paper into some of his greatest masterpieces. It gets a
little woo-woo at the end—Matisse dies and ascending to heaven on a
cavalry of his colorful shapes—but it’s a sweet introduction to one
of the 20th century’s modernist giants.

Buy it now for
$17

Pop Art Baby!

Age Range:
0+

For the most youthful art fans in your life, look no further
than the enthusiastically titled Pop Art Baby!
This sturdy board book is made of cardboard with rounded
edges—perfect for the tactile, chewing-on-things studio practice of
many artist babies—and introduces universal themes of love and
family in multiple languages and through the form of iconic Keith
Haring drawings.

Arty parents will enjoy the Pop Art pedigree, babies will enjoy
the bright pages. Win-win.

Buy it now for
$13

All our recommendations are independently chosen by members
of the artnet News team. If you make a purchase through links in
this article, artnet News will earn an affiliate commission that
helps fund the art-world journalism you rely on.

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