Touch the Art: Brush Mona Lisa's Hair » (BOARD)

Amy Guglielmo is an artist, writer, and teacher. She currently runs her own art school in a Soho loft in New York City, where she lives with her husband. Amy also teaches cooking, runs art and theater camps, and throws fabulous art parties for kids.

Julie Appel is a writer and a lawyer. Julie resides in New York City with her husband and two children, where she is an avid collector of her children’s art.

The "Touch the Art" series is a fresh, funny introduction to fine art for kids.

"Jump inside" the paintings with fun, tactile pages that introduce children to the works of the world's greatest artists and their famous paintings. Each book in the "Touch the Art" series gives kids the chance to tug, snap, lift and pull their way through art history.

The mysterious Mona Lisa could use a little grooming--so go ahead and brush her long black hair! Continue with the Old Masters by touching the large, lacy collar of Frans Hals’ The Laughing Cavalier, petting the horse’s tail in Velazquez’s Prince Baltasar Carlos on Horseback, and arranging the snappy elastic hair in Boticcelli’s The Birth of Venus. Other paintings come from Vermeer, de la Tour, Raphael, and Van Eyck.

Children's Literature

One in the "Touch the Art" series, these board books will expose very young children to famous artists and important periods in art history. This book introduces great art from the masters of the Renaissance to the Baroque periods. The cover features one of the most famous paintings—da Vinci's Mona Lisa. Kids can touch her hair. With Boticelli's The Birth of Venus, the clips in her hair have been modified to provide something to touch. Kids may get a real kick out of the tail of Prince Balthasar Carlos or smile at the fancy collar in Franz Hals's "The Laughing Cavalier." The closing pages, entitled "Artifacts," present information about the paintings and their respective artists. These books could be used with any age group and in art programs. Teachers could challenge kids to make their own reproductions and to add a tactile element. Others in the series include Feed Matisse's Fish, Make Van Gogh's Bed, and Pop Warhol's Top.