Katie and the Impressionists

"Katie and the Impressionists by James Mayhew In each story Katie goes somewhere with her grandmother, generally to a museum, and her grandmother falls asleep, which is when Katie jumps into each painting. I think this is exactly how children’s minds work. Every child is capable of being interested in art, and this is the best way to get them interested. If they’re introduced to art in in a very positive way, then they can appreciate museums. Often as adults, we underestimate how much children understand about art and how much they can observe and really appreciate in the detail. I spent ten years in Paris where I went to museums every weekend. When I was a teacher there, and when I was a nanny there, I would take the children to museums every month and do projects on artists. I love how the Katie series introduces children to different – mainly French – artists. It is a very charming series to show children how to look deeper into the paintings and invent their own story. In Katie and the Impressionists the theme is looking at the flowers in each painting because Katie was looking for flowers for her grandmother’s birthday. This not only generates interest in artists like Monet and Degas, but also draws children’s attention to flowers. It’s a perfect springtime story as well as an artist story. I did a European artists unit two years ago, and that summer I had two students go to Paris to go to the museums because they love learning about the art so much. Because we had read about the artists, about their lives, we had looked at their art, at techniques, we had talked about what you imagine art to be, and looked at the detail close up. We spoke about how some paintings are big in fame but small in size and vice versa. That so captivated two of my students that they begged to go to Paris to see the art in real life, and came back and gave me a full report on it. I can remember as a nine year old child learning about Brussels, and at nineteen travelling to Brussels to see all the things I learned about as a nine year old. So I think it’s important to choose books for children that are inspirational and do leave an impression, because when you’re reading with them, what they take is beyond the circle time story, it gives them aspirations and ambitions."