25 Projects for ART Explorers. By Christine M. Kirker. Chicago: ALA Editions, 2018. 48 p. Paper $24.99 (ISBN-13: 978-0-8389-1739-8).

Reading stories to children may often isolate a story’s purpose into narrow elements. Christina M. Kirker’s 25 Projects for Art Explorers expands storytelling by creating cross-curricular, literature-based art projects utilizing popular children’s literature to encourage art appreciation and creative release.

There are many books on the market combining literature with art projects. What makes this book unique is its focus on the illustrator’s purpose, a perspective rarely utilized as a means of understanding the purpose of a story.

25 Projects for Art Explorers includes a summary of an elementary-level children’s picture book, information about the illustrator with a link to the illustrator’s website, an explanation of the illustrator’s art technique, books to display for additional exploration, library programming tips, and directions for an art project reflecting the art technique. Also provided is an appendix explaining art material guidelines.

A special feature of this publication is attention paid to art techniques. Young artists will learn about gouache, watercolor, painted tissue paper, collages, and cut paper, as well as other techniques. This book allows children to explicitly learn these styles while also gaining the transferrable skill of building an ‘artistic eye’ for the critical evaluation of art. The only drawback is the pages and illustrations are in black-and-white.

25 Projects for Art Explorers offers avenues for co-teaching, collaborations, or partnerships with teachers, librarians, and art teachers. The activities are appealing extensions to classroom curricular themes in English and language arts (ELA), social studies, science, and social-emotional learning, as well as library story-time programming ideas.

25 Projects for Art Explorers is highly recommended for those looking to create a multimodal approach to literature. It will be most beneficial for school libraries, public libraries, classrooms, and after-school programs.—Tiffeni Fontno, Head Librarian, Educational Resource Center, Boston College, Chesnut Hill, Massachusetts