Art books for 2nd graders

Henri Rosseau was a self-taught painter of jungles and wild animals. Critics sneered at his artwork, but he continued to paint his exotic visions. Today his naif scenarios are acclaimed as masterpieces. Children will root for this humble man who believed in himself despite negative feedback. With vibrant, imaginative illustrations.

Perfect for: Kids who like to read about real people.

Find The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau at your local library.

Young Edward Ellington thought piano lessons were boring, until ragtime inspired him to press on the pearlies. Written in swinging jazzy style, this tribute to the “King of the Keys,” who played Harlem’s Cotton Club, will get your fingers snapping. A wild joy to read out loud. Dig it, Daddy-O!

Perfect for: Kids who like music.

Find Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra at your local library.

Chronicles the adventurous life of the Little House on the Prairie author. Includes her heritage and birth, personal traumas not revealed in her books, and photos. Ideal for anyone who read all the Little House books. Written in a sympathetic style that conveys the appealing courage of this intrepid writer and pioneer.

Perfect for: Kids who like to read about real people.

Find Laura Ingalls Wilder: A biography at your local library.

Richly illustrated presentation of the Western world’s greatest painters in a chronological, kid-friendly format. Includes concise biographies, beautiful reproductions, helpful timelines, fun games, quizzes, and museum information. Includes da Vinci, Vermeer, Cassatt, van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, and more!

Perfect for: Kids who like arts.

Find 13 Artists Children Should Know at your local library.

Sensitive portrayal of the famed Russian ballerina who performed her signature work “The Dying Swan” 4,000 times. Little Anna was initially regarded as too fragile and sickly for the discipline, but her graceful expressiveness enthralled audiences worldwide. Her devotion to dance is emphasized, as well as her love of nature and compassion for orphans.

Perfect for: Kids who like read about real people.

Find Dance of the Swan at your local library.

Two world-famous painters are caricatured as a fussy pig and belligerent bull who are next door neighbors. Their friendship is destroyed when they insult each other’s styles, but it’s repaired when they paint spectacular apologies on their shared fence. Based loosely on the real life relationship between two of the world’s greatest artists. Witty, fast-paced text with cubist and fauvist illustrations.

Perfect for: Kids who like making friends.

Find When Pigasso Met Mootisse at your local library.

When Iggy was two, he built a leaning tower out of dirty diapers and glue. He loves architecture! He makes cathedrals with apples, castles with chalk. When his class gets trapped on an island, he manufactures a bridge with underpants and shoelaces. Hilarious rhyming text, ideal for creative little builders.

Perfect for: Kids who like to build things.

Find Iggy Peck, Architect at your local library.

How did Jackson Pollack, the American abstract expressionist, create his huge splattered paintings? The development of “Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist)” — one of his most famous kinetic creations — is described with lyrical text, vibrant watercolors, the artist’s biography, his major inspirations, and a reproduction of the masterpiece.

Perfect for: Kids who like to read about real people.

Find Action Jackson at your local library.

Young readers are simultaneously introduced to fine art and classical music via paired masterpieces with similar themes. For example, Hiroshige’s “Chrysanthemums” is twinned with Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee.” Includes CD, introduction to musical instruction, biographies of composers and artists, and fun tests. A clever way to culture our children!

Perfect for: Kids who like arts and music.

Find Can You Hear It? at your local library.

Inspiring biography of the author/illustrator of the famed children’s book Millions of Cats. When she was 15 her father died, and she supported her large Bohemian immigrant family in Minnesota by selling her drawings. A gracious tribute to a girl who started drawing “as soon as she could hold a pencil.”

Perfect for: Kids who like to draw.

Find Wanda Gag: The Girl Who Lived to Draw at your local library.