Katie And The Mona Lisa
PreSchool-Grade 2-This is the fourth book in which Katie visits a museum with her grandmother. This time, while Grandma is resting, the little girl admires the Mona Lisa. She wonders aloud what it is that makes her smile. "Then come inside, bambina!" beckons the painted lady. When she does, Katie discovers that Mona Lisa is bored. Together they visit several other famous works from the Italian Renaissance, wreak havoc in the museum by letting characters out of their frames, and learn something about each painting. In the museum, Katie and her surroundings are sketched with plenty of white space around them, but each time she enters a painting, the entire two-page spread is completely colored in, adding depth and detail to the original piece of artwork. Raphael's St. George, Botticelli's dancers, Carpaccio's lion, and Leonardo's angel all spring to life. A page of brief information on the featured artists is appended. This fanciful tale is not particularly compelling but it may encourage children to use their imaginations when viewing fine art.Kathleen Simonetta, Indian Trails Public Library District, Wheeling, ILCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.