From the creator of the bestselling Anti-Coloring Book series with more than 600,000 copies sold, a new parenting guide to encouraging creativity in preschool-age children Young at Art is the first and only comprehensive book for the general audience about the nature, value and impact of art on very young children. Directed towards parents and educators of one to five year olds, Susan Striker explains why children's art is not a frill, but the very foundation upon which all later fundamental skills are built. She drives home the idea that encouraging children's artistic growth will have beneficial effects on all other aspects of their emotional and intellectual development. At the core of this practical guide is the understanding that art is an important tool in teaching young children crucial concepts related to self-expression, reading and writing. As opposed to more structured exercises, such as coloring on dittos and underlining pictures in workbooks, Striker stresses that scribbling and free drawing experiments are the most important art activities a child can engage in; they better prepare children to read independently as they grow. Young at Art provides descriptions for age-appropriate art activities, tips for carrying them out safely, and helps parents recognize what a child's art work should look like at each stage of development. With Young at Art, parents will develop realistic expectations of their children's work, learn how to speak to their children about their art, and facilitate skills well beyond their creativity that will benefit children.

20UNDER40: Re-Inventing the Arts and Arts Education for the 21st Century is an anthology of critical discourse that addresses the impending generational shift in arts leadership by publishing twenty essays about the future of the arts and arts education each written by young and emerging arts professionals under the age of forty. In the process of doing so, 20UNDER40 brings the voices of young arts leaders out of the margins and into the forefront of our cultural dialogue.

Build the foundation for a lifetime of inquiry and learning with projects for toddlers and twos.

Anyone who likes to play in mud, playdough, papier-mache and similar mediums will love this book of over 125 clays, doughs, and modeling mixtures you can make yourself. The first chapter alone has 31 playdough recipes! Mudworks uses common household materials and requires no expertise. Ideal for fun or serious art for all ages, for home, school, or childcare. Also available in a bilingual Spanish and English version in eBook format, "Mudworks Bilingual". 1990 Benjamin Franklin Gold Award 1990 American Library Association (ALA) Starred Review 1995 ALA "Best of the Best" Books & Media for Children