Picture Book Art

On Sunday we ventured to Amherst to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. This picture is from a post card I bought - it's titled Eric Carle and his catepillar. The museum is absolutely fabulous! The exhibits were one comparing Eric Carle's picture book art with that of Leo Lionni, one on Alice and Martin Provenson, and a smaller exhibit on Jerry Pinkney.

The exhibits easily held our attention - who knew that the art of Eric Carle and Leo Lionni was so similar. There are gallery activities for children - clipboards with a list of things to find in the pictures, and each room includes a bench with box of books related to the exhibit. Each of the exhibits shows not only the art but also explains the process the artist uses to create the pictures.

The Jerry Pinkney exhibit was complete with a warning sign that the subject matter was inappropriate for children under 8. The book featured, The Old African, is about the enslavement of Africans, and the related horrors.

The museum also features a small library - hours of picture books to read; a cafe, an auditorium and an activity room. The activity room is available for everyone, adult and children, and features materials to try some of the processes used by the featured artists.

The museum shop is another treasure trove of picture books - I could have spent hours there and lots and lots of money!

Even the bathrooms impressed me. They feature tiles of Eric Carle's characters and child sized fixtures in addition to the adult sized fixtures.

The museum is definitely worth a visit - I know I'll go back - can't wait till Nick is old enough to survive the road trip to Amherst!

For info on the museum check out www.picturebookart.org.