Your kid: The next Paul Klee

I've tried to encourage my tween's intense love of all things art since she was a wee thing. To fuel her fire, we have loads of art books from "open-ended" coloring books like Rosie Flo's and those by Taro Gomi, to more academic tomes with pages of famous artwork from which she can draw (heh) inspiration. Our latest find brings together the free drawing she loves with the works of some of the world's most famous artists, and it is the perfect addition to any young artist's studio, even if that "studio" is also your dining room table. Let's Make Some Great Art is a pretty self-explanatory title for this 200+ page interactive coloring-and-activity book. London-based graphic artist and illustrator Marion Deuchars' funky lettering and not-too-perfect illustrations seem ideal for making a child feel comfortable and not "whoa, out of my league" when he opens the book. As a homeschooling parent, I love (LOVE) how much information is packed into this book without feeling text-booky. Twelve artists, from da Vinci to Matisse, are featured throughout with little bite-sized tidbits of information about their life and their art. In addition, it's really teaching them stuff: Kids are encouraged to draw something on different style plinths, thus learning what a "plinth" is; later they are encouraged to draw a picture without lifting their pencil, a la Paul Klee. And there are so many techniques introduced, from pencil drawing, to hatching, to creating 3D objects, it's like a year's worth of art classes in an easy-to-carry book. My ten-year-old, though, just likes that she can open the book anywhere and find something fun to draw. She also loves that the book is pretty silly at times, and there is no "right" way to do anything. I think the masters would agree. Grab a copy of Let's Make Some Great Art by Marion Deuchars from our affiliate Amazon. There is even a  new companion book called Let's Make Some Great Placemat Art for the kids who like to draw at the table.