I love the title of this biography of artist Yayoi Kusama. It reflects the beautifully simple way that Kusama’s story is told in this lovely book. Unusually, it is written from Kusama’s point of view: ‘I painted hundreds and hundreds of dots onto large canvases. The dots often came off the pictures and ended up on my dress, tables and wall! But I wasn’t sorry.’

The bold illustrations are pared down but full of character and wit – like the prose.

This is the third title in a series of books introducing younger children to the lives and works of contemporary artists who broke the mould, and ‘weren’t sorry’. Jackson Pollack and Yves Klein are the other two – whole series is wonderful.

A combination of biography and art history, this brilliant non-fiction book is a celebration of Faith Ringold – her storytelling, art and creativity – but does not shy away from the important context of racism, sexism and poverty she experienced in her life that is reflected in her art.

The text has a brilliant balance of biography, the development of Faith’s art (from painting, to mask making and then textiles) and the political and social history of the time, and is a fantastic model to introduce the idea that ‘art reflects life’ and that art and history are intrinsically linked.

This is a fantastic book for art leaders to add to the school library and Faith would make an amazing artist to study in KS2. However, as well as incorporating Faith Ringold into the Art curriculum, this book could equally be used in UKS2 to inspire writing, including biography and storytelling from images; or used as a supporting text alongside Faith’s children’s book, Tar Beach.

We really liked the reflection questions interspersed within the text, encouraging the reader to stop and pause and to think about the link between their own creativity and activism. Sharna Jackson and Andrea Pippins have created a visually stunning and incredibly informative text, distilling and clearly communicating complex themes.

Looking at the fun, exuberantly coloured monster on the front cover of The Artist, it’s easy to recall countless children concentrating intently on their artwork. That fearless, limitless creativity which can be witnessed in classrooms around the world certainly must have inspired Ed Vere to write his wonderful book!

The book is written about ‘an artist’ and how artists can see the world differently from other people because they take time to really ‘look’. As the story continues, it unpicks how artists work with different materials and media, using their imagination to take them to faraway places or bring them closer to the ones they love.

The artist in this book paints a blank canvas of a town but makes a mistake and loses some of the bravery and creativity it has had; taking advice from a young child to get it back.

As a text to share to support children in regaining some of their bravery around art, it’s a brilliant resource. It also works well as a book for younger readers who are looking at how to use different materials creatively. The illustrations are amazing and would be a brilliant inspiration for class or whole school art projects which focus on creativity and imagination.

A story set in the Stone Age that explores how the first drawing could have come to be, based on real discoveries made in the Cave of Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc in France, which contains some of the oldest known cave drawings made 30,000 years ago. A free educator’s guide is also available.

This is such a beautifully presented picturebook with striking print images and drawings. 

Anna Atkins is acknowledged to be one of the first women in the world to take a photograph, and one of the first people to publish a book of photographic images. After being given a camera in 1841, Anna was excited by this new process, but it was her introduction to Herschel’s discovery of cyanotype printing that sparked a passion for cyantography; the process of using chemicals that react to sunlight to dye paper and print images. In the book, the author’s own drawings and cyanotypes are combined with reproductions of Anna Atkins’ original work.

This story follows Aaron, a boy who loves stories but struggles with writing due to his difficulty in deciphering letters. But when his turn to write a story for the class comes around, inspiration strikes, and he finds another way to share his tale through the pictures he draws.

This book is part of a larger series that has gained popularity in schools, and for good reason. The other titles, such as “Rosie Revere, Engineer” and “Iggy Peck, Architect” are also engaging and give validity to the talents and strengths of each individual.

We love Aaron Slater, Illustrator as an empowering storytime read that can also lead to discussions about helping individuals find ways to personally thrive as well as touching on themes of dyslexia and the power of art.

This simple picture book tackles one of the most complicated questions: What’s the point of art?

A little boy called Henri (Matisse? Rousseau, perhaps?) has been taken on a school trip to a modern art gallery and he’s not happy about it. He’d much rather be on a beach or swimming. He is also baffled by the supposed ‘art’, questioning the odd colours, faces and soup cans! He eventually finds a piece he likes before entering a room with just a chair and a strange-looking contraption. But is it art?

I won’t spoil the answer, but do feel that Henri speaks for both children and adults alike when encountering modern art: “I just don’t get it,” is a phrase I’ve heard many a time – and who amongst us hasn’t looked at a light feature or a rubbish bin at an art gallery and wondered if this was actually an inspiring piece trying to depict the tragedy of war?

This is a delightful story, with lovely illustrations. Eagle-eyed art lovers will recognise works by Magritte, Picasso, Dali, Mondrian, Warhol and Klein, as well as hints towards chairs in art and Ceci n’est pas une pipe. The story would make a brilliant start to an assembly, a ‘Big Thinking’ question or an art lesson, where it could ‘unleash an explosion of creativity.

The second book in the ‘Lizzie and Belle Mysteries’ series sees the young best friends and amateur detectives use their skills to investigate the theft of a historic portrait which in turn reveals further mysteries and crimes which they must solve. Through this investigation the reader will learn some of the critical thinking skills used when looking at art, and how we can learn from historical artworks in the context of our knowledge of the time.

Set in Georgian London, this book illuminates the multiracial history of Britain, and the struggles and injustices faced by Black people in a place where many powerful people thrived on keeping slavery alive. It also demonstrates that White people had an important role, as well as responsibility, to offer support to Black anti-slavery activists and to challenge the White slave owners of the time. Many of the characters and events in this book are based on real people and things that happened, and there is a lot of scope to research the story of the real Dido Elizabeth Belle, including the painting of her and her cousin from the 1770s. This is a fantastic mystery story, which could also lead to discussions about race, art, and friendship and families.

Author JT Williams also visited our blog to discuss the role of fiction in bringing history to life for children.

Trixie Pickle is an arty ‘sort-of-superhero’ and this is her second adventure (the first being Trixie Pickle, Art Avenger). Trixie and her best friend, Beeks, have a lot going on in their lives. First, there is the latest edition of their comic, Blammo, to work on. Then there are the ‘mean girls’ to avoid or they will cause all sorts of trouble for Trixie and Beeks. There is also a new mystery illness doing the rounds; nicknamed ‘Wormwood fever’, it makes the patient very ill and can be briefly summed up by the words ‘it’s coming out both ends’. Could the mystery illness have anything to do with someone Trixie sees dumping toxic waste in the local reservoir? Who is it and can they be stopped? Trixie has a comic to finish, a mystery to solve and enemies to get revenge on . . . but all in an artistic way of course and with plenty of scope for mishap.

Full of fantastic, detailed fact files of the real artists who inspire Trixie and fully illustrated by the author, it was great to discover some artists I hadn’t been aware of before. This is a fast-paced, funny, fact-filled book which will appeal to art lovers, adventure lovers and humour lovers. It would also lend itself extremely well to a variety of art projects based on the artists featured.

A funny art heist mystery from the duo behind Chocolate Milk, X-Ray Specs and Me. One day, the Royal Family announces a £25 million reward for a painting that has been missing for about 200 years – a second version of The Mona Lisa. As the hunt is on for the missing painting, criminals start to think that it might be hidden at Mia and Jake’s school.

The layout of the book is fun and really appealing with different size fonts and small illustrations around the writing. The story is mainly told through emails between Mia and her granny but there is occasionally a newspaper article, blog, or notes between the characters.  A great medium-length book for Year 4 and up, and one that will appeal to fans of Liz Pichon, Danny Wallace or Sam Copeland.

National treasure Rob Biddulph, whose record-breaking illustration events during lockdown gained an army of fans young and old, publishes his first illustrated chapter book this month. Peanut Jones is a wonderfully imaginative story with likeable characters and plenty of action and adventure.

Pernilla Jones (Peanut to her friends) isn’t having the best time. Her dad suddenly disappeared over a year ago, her mum is moving on and dating someone Peanut can’t stand and she has been made to move schools, leaving her beloved Melody High behind in favour of St Hubert’s School for the Seriously Scientific and Terminally Mathematic. Peanut is paired with Rockwell Riley as part of a study buddy scheme to help new students settle and she couldn’t be more disinterested.

One day, when she finds a magic pencil which has the power to make drawings a reality, Peanut sets out to find out what really happened to her dad. She takes Rockwell and her little sister, Little Bit, along for the ride in this alternate dimension where there is always danger and surprise around the corner. The story follows her journey into a hidden world where she must think quickly and use her drawing powers to save herself, her friends and the people she meets from those who wish to destroy all creativity – all the while, searching for the truth about her dad.

Throughout the book, there are superb, detailed drawings which are in black, white and orange, giving the book a unique style. This is the first in a trilogy about friendship and creativity. The short chapters make it easy to read and I look forward to the next instalment.

A triumphant entry into the chapter book world from Rob Biddulph.