"If da Vinci painted a Dinosaur" from Amy Newbold is the Perfect Book to Introduce Kids to Art History (Review)

Disclosure: I was sent a review copy from the vendor in exchange for an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.


Here is a funny question for you?  Have you ever wondered what it would look like if the famous painter, da Vinci painted a dinosaur?  Well, my girls and I hadn't...that was until we saw the cute new children's book, "If da Dinvi painted a Dinosaur" by Amy Newbold.  Just looking at the cover, made my girls want to dive right into the book, and see what it was about.  And, being fans of dinosaurs, this book was right up their alley.

In addition to the cute cover and title of this book, what also caught my eye was that book was written by Amy Newbold.  I recalled this author, as my girls fell in love with one of her other books last October and recently pulled it out to read again, now that the snow started falling here in the Northeast.  You may recall my review of Amy's previous book, "If Picasso Painted a Snowman"  -- if not, here is my review: https://www.inspiredbysavannah.com/2017/11/if-picasso-painted-snowman-will-inspire.html. 

This new book, featuring da Vinci and dinosaurs is set up in the same fashion as the Picasso and Snowman one - as a way to inspire children to tap into their artist sides while also introducing them to a particular artist's style and works.

In this new book, "If da Vinci painted a Dinosaur" readers are asked how they draw a dinosaur.  And, then from there, they are presented with a variety of ways to capture different dinosaur species in fun, artistic ways. My girls not only enjoyed the cute story, but loved seeing all the different dinosaurs that filled the pages of this book.  And, when they were done reading it, just like they did with Amy Newbold's previous book, they grabbed their sketchbooks and tried to draw their own versions of Mona Lisa if she was a dinosaur, dinosaurs smelling flowers in Mary Cassatt's garden and even Edgar Degas ballerinas if they were ballerinas. 

If your kids love art, or you are looking for a fun book that will spark their creativity and imagination, then you will want to check out this and other books by the author. I am so happy to have stumbled across this new release, and can't wait to add more books by the author to our growing collection.

More about this book: 

"A new kid-friendly tour of art history from the Newbolds  

In this sequel to the tour de force children's art-history picture book If Picasso Painted a Snowman, Amy Newbold conveys nineteen artists' styles in a few deft words, while Greg Newbold's chameleon-like artistry shows us Edgar Degas' dinosaur ballerinas, Cassius Coolidge's dinosaurs playing Go Fish, Hokusai's dinosaurs surfing a giant wave, and dinosaurs smelling flowers in Mary Cassatt's garden; grazing in Grandma Moses' green valley; peeking around Diego Rivera's lilies; tiptoeing through Baishi's inky bamboo; and cavorting, stampeding, or hiding in canvases by Henri Matisse, Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo, Franz Marc, Harrison Begay, Alma Thomas, Aaron Douglas, Mark Rothko, Lois Mailou Jones, Marguerite Zorach, and Edvard Munch. And, of course, striking a Mona Lisa pose for Leonardo da Vinci.

As in If Picasso Painted a Snowman, our guide for this tour is an engaging hamster who is joined in the final pages by a tiny dino artist. Thumbnail biographies of the artists identify their iconic works, completing this tour of the creative imagination."

Disclosure: I was sent a review copy from the vendor in exchange for an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.