Artist to Artist: 23 Major Illustrators Talk to Children About Their Art Hardcover – Picture Book, September 25, 2007

As an artist myself, I find it inspirational to talk with other artists and to explore the many things people do to express they're creativity and keep us collectively evolving our consciousness. I believe art, music, literature...the "arts" are the gateway to awakening. Perfect book to encourage kids and adults alike...art isn't something you do after getting the 'important' work done (as described to me by an 8 year old who share with me the requirement at school to do all the important work first so you can have time for art on Friday.). Art is living and breathing...it is what we do because we are human and need to be creative and find ways of expression. No kid should be held hostage to the idea that art is frivolous or unimportant. Creative expression is essential to the nature of humankind.

This is such an amazing book! The concept of artists talking directly to a young person about their art and becoming an artist is wonderful and inspiring. I would highly recommend this book to any art teacher. I've used these artist in my own art curriculum to inspire and to share wonderful examples of art. And this makes art so immediate and so connected to children both in the words and the art that they might be familiar with from children's books. Love it and recommend it!

I actually love this book. Each artist has a 3 page spread--with a fold out page. At first you see the artist's letter to young artists paired with a self portrait--some of which are hilarious. Once you open the fold, you get to peek into the artist's studio, see drafts of well know characters (Max from the Wild Things, for example) and other tidbits.I thought about giving this a 3 star rating because I think someone would need to have a real interest in children's books to enjoy it. That said, I have recommended it to a 9 year old boy who loves to draw and am waiting to hear what he thinks.

Artist to Artist is a book conceived by Eric Carle and written by twenty three major children's book illustrators to children interested in picture book art, Each artist has written a personal letter describing their feelings about art and literature with bits of their biographies and samples of their artwork at different ages and stages in their lives. The book provides encouragement for young artists and enlightenment for anyone interested in the art of creating picture books for children. The book provides personal stories and proves, in the words of St. Thomas Aquinas, "an artist is not a special kind of person, but every person is a special kind of artist."

This book is beautiful in every way. The selection of featured illustrators includes Mitsumisa Anno, Nancy Elkholm Burkert, Eric Carle, Tomie dePaola, Leo Lionni, Barry Moser, Jerry Pinkney, Alice Provensen, Maurice Senkak, Gennady Spirin, Chris Van Allsburg and many others. The text(written by the artists) is fascinating and easily readable for older children and adults. Foldout pages show examples of each artist's early work, their studios and materials, finished work and a self-portrait. The color quality of the reproductions is outstanding and Robert Sabuda's page features a real Pop-up! If you love book illustration I highly recommend this book. I found it to be illuminating and inspiring!

I bought this book for my granddaughter's eighth birthday. Since I am an artist, I do everything I can to encourage art making in my 2 granddaughters. Since the 8 year old is also a champion reader, I am hoping she will enjoy this book on her Birthday in March. I enjoyed it myself.

We wanted to encourage our grand daughter to continue to see the world through her own eyes and not let the school system corrupt that wonderful view. She loved the book and how its authors and selected artists were able to create in their own manner. A successful purchase in my opinion.

This is a charming book to be enjoyed by all;young children, who will enjoy having this read to them, to aspiring artists, to older fans. Early work of these illustrators and pictures of some of them as children along with their stories give a picture of their development.This may also offer an introduction to new books and illustrators. Great for teachers and librarians when presenting a story.