Preschool Books by Theme - 5 Books to Introduce Art to Your Preschooler

By Molly Christensen

It’s never too early to introduce your child to Van Gogh, Monet or Rembrandt.  Preschoolers really enjoy paintings and other art done by the masters if you just share it with them. Find great pictures and hang them around your home. Or you can buy postcards and play games with them.  And, of course, there are some excellent books of art to share with your preschoolers too. Try some of these:

A Child’s Book of Art by Lucy Mickelthwait. Oversized picture book full of classic paintings, arranged by childhood themes. Simple text.

Baby Einstein: The ABC's of Art by Julie Aigner-Clark. Although the title says baby, preschoolers will enjoy this too. Each letter of the alphabet stands for an object  which is depicted in a famous painting. Questions are included.

Linnea in Monet's Garden by Christina Bjork and Lena Andersen. This picture book has a lot more text than most picure books. Some preschoolers will enjoy the story, others will like looking at the pictures. Either way, you’ll learn a lot about Monet.

Come Look with Me: Enjoying Art with Children by Gladys Blizzard. There are several books in this series. Each book includes about 12 paintings. Each painting includes a brief biography of the painter and questions to ask your child.

Museum ABC by the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art. This is another ABC book, but for each letter, there are four paintings shown. Each painting is very different, yet you can still find similarities.

When reading an art book with your preschooler, ask questions. You can ask questions such as:

• What do you see?  (details)

• How does the picture make you feel?

• What do you like?  What do you not like?

• What colors were used?

• What shapes do you see?

• Does this painting look like any others you’ve seen before?

• How is this painting different from (or the same as) this other painting?

Asking questions will help your preschooler learn to observe and it will increase thinking skills.  It’s fun to look at paintings with preschoolers, they have such a unique perspective on life! 

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