Is your child destined to be the next Linda Nochlin? Could that be another Sister Wendy Beckett beneath the smears of mashed banana? A future Ernst Gombrich nibbling on a rice cake? To help drag your child away from Peppa Pig and Bluey, here is our pick of some of the best art history-related books for the under-fives. They might just keep pushy parents entertained, too.
Mildred the Gallery Cat (2022) by Jono Ganz
The illustrator and author Jono Ganz formerly worked in the Tate shop and this tale was inspired by a real-life Tate Modern legend: Mildred the cat. During the Covid-19 lockdown, Ganz started imagining Mildred roaming around the galleries at night and how a feline might see the famous works of art. But her inquisitiveness gets her in a few scrapes… the sort to make Tate’s insurers wince.
Luna Loves Art (2020) by Joseph Coelho and Fiona Lumbers
On a school trip to a gallery, the art-loving Luna (who seemingly can do no wrong) comes to understand the introspective new boy, Finn, through the art on show. While a Jeff Koons Balloon Dog does not add much to the conversation, Kazimir Malevich’s Black Square, Henri Rousseau’s Surprised! and Henry Moore’s Family Group help Finn come out of his shell.
Small Stories of Great Artists (2002) by Laurence Anholt
This hefty tome is written and illustrated by Laurence Anholt, who has written more than 200 books ranging from babies’ board books to adult crime fiction, and is an anthology of the children’s art book series that he has been working on for more than 30 years. Anholt tells the stories of Vincent van Gogh, Frida Kahlo, Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Marc Chagall, Edgar Degas and Leonardo through the eyes of children who knew the artists.
Louise Bourgeois Made Giant Spiders and Wasn’t Sorry (2023) by Fausto Gilberti
Fausto Gilberti’s And Wasn’t Sorry series offers an irreverent introduction to famous artists, with a tongue-in-cheek humour that will appeal to young minds (and some older ones, too). We are taken back to why a young Louise Bourgeois became fascinated by spiders, why Yayoi Kusama is quite so obsessed with dots, why Banksy cannot resist graffiti and why Jackson Pollock “splashed paint about”.
Dear Vincent (2024) by Michael Bird and Ella Beech
Michael Bird is a prolific author of both adults’ and children’s books about art, including Vincent’s Starry Night and Other Stories: A Children’s History of Art. His latest, Dear Vincent, was published in September and beautifully illustrated by Ella Beech. It tells the story of Van Gogh’s tumultuous life through his letters to his brother, Theo, as he decides to leave the grim city for the sunny south of France, which sparks new creativity in his work. Admittedly, that elation was short-lived, but perhaps don’t mention that to the kids just yet.
