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Cave Paintings to Picasso: The Inside Scoop on 50 Art Masterpieces.


Bibliography:
Sayre, H.(2004).Cave Paintings to Picasso: The Inside Scoop on 50 Art Masterpieces. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.

Book Summary:
In this book, Sayre gives readers a list of 50 art masterpieces ranging from 22,000 B.C. to A.D. 1964. The art pieces cover a wide variety of styles. Sayre takes the readers on a world tour as they explore the art from the prehistoric age to the modern 21st century art of Rene Magritte in the “Son of man” and the Andy Warhol Campbell tomato soup can painting. The selection includes paintings that are not only famous but beautiful to look at.

My Impression
The paintings are chronologically organized according to time period. The author provides facts and analysis of each art piece. The size of each art piece is provided and a sidebar provides the artists timeline. The author gives background information, time period, some information about what was going on during the time period, and some facts about the artists who created these masterpieces. He also mentions the significance of the art piece to the time period where applicable. The author gives tidbits of information for most of the art pieces and focuses on the stories behind the art pieces such as how they were created, what inspired the artist, and their artistic backgrounds. The language is suitable for middle school children. However readers of all ages will enjoy looking at the colorful photos of the famous art pieces in this book. Parents and teachers can read this book to kids in upper elementary (grades 3-5) and high school kids can use this book to start research on art.
The author does not provide any reference aids or bibliography for this book which is drawback since this is an informational book. An index and a glossary of terms at the end of the book, though helpful, are not sufficient.

Reviews
From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 5-10–The history of art is long and complex, yet Sayre has managed to show 50 major works of art from 22,000 B.C. to A.D. 1964 and successfully summarize the background of each one, the artist, and its social and historical context as well as the reason(s) it is important. The masterpieces discussed begin with Woman from Brassempouy and conclude with René Magritte's The Son of Man. The author's breezy style captures interest early on and is easy enough for beginning art students while remaining informative for teens. Many of the world's cultures are represented and a variety of techniques are explained: woodblock printing, painting, tapestries, primitive carving, sculpture, and more. The full-color reproductions are at least a quarter-page in size, though most are larger. A funky, framed inset box gives the title, medium, size, artist, and year the work was created. Though some pages seem a little crowded, the layout is energetic enough to forgive the loss of white space. A time line runs along the outside edge of the pages, with an asterisk marking the date of the depicted pieces. A dazzling and accessible introduction to art history.–Heather E. Miller, Homewood Public Library, AL
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Use in a Library Setting
This book can be used in a middle school art classroom to study different types of art styles, conduct research on a time period, art piece, or particular artist. It can also be used in elementary school classroom to introduce kids to art.

References
Book image from Barnes & Noble at: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Cave-Paintings-to-Picasso/HenrySayre/e/9780811837675/?itm=1&USRI=cave+paintings+to+picasso%3a+the+inside+scoop+on+50+art+masterpieces

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