‘Art Lab for Kids: Express Yourself!’

This is a book I’d very-much like to add to the shelves at my school library. Like its title suggests, Art Lab for Kids: Express Yourself! presents a series of “Labs,” or projects, in a variety of artistic endeavors: drawing, painting, printmaking, mixed media, and paper-based.

Each project includes a materials list, a description or prompt, and step-by-step instructions.

From its introduction, the book seems written with adults in mind, e.g. parents or educators, who would assemble an artistic space and offer the projects as lessons — but the way the projects themselves are presented, I think that older children could also explore them independently. (Some techniques, like using a cutting tool, are meant to be performed under adult supervision.)

Disclosure of material connection: My taxes support local libraries’ acquisition of this and other resources. I consider the access I enjoy to be a “priceless” return on my investment.