Art & Music Education

In her book The Hidden Art of Homemaking, Edith Schaeffer argues that everyone has a talent or skill ready to be discovered and put to use for the glory of God. Often, that talent lies dormant, and the individual is frustrated by the empty spot in their life it should fill. Finding your talent should be a priority, though it's no drudgery—discovering what God has made you good at is a joyful and exciting process.

Similarly, Olympic gold medalist Eric Liddell never put his running before his duty to Christ; instead, he used his talent as a sprinter to glorify God. As he expresses in the brilliant film Chariots of Fire, "I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure." God gives us talents to use in His name, and our joy in them is really our joy in Him.

Eric Liddell's talent led him to compete internationally; the "hidden art" Schaeffer describes is a little more modest, though no less glorifying to God when pursued humbly and gratefully. For Schaeffer, one's hidden art can be something as simple as arranging flowers on the kitchen table, or as elaborate as writing a story or painting a landscape. Everyone has different strengths, and each should learn to cultivate their own.

Our goal in teaching our children art and music isn't to raise a bunch of Van Goghs and Mozarts. If your child is a creative genius that's wonderful, but even if she can barely stay in the lines when coloring, her gifts are just as valuable to the Lord, and her discovery of them is just as important for her growth and personal happiness.

There are a few books in this section designed to help kids appreciate great art of the past, to learn about composers, or to identify the work of different painters and architects. However, most of what we offer is intended to help students across the whole range of ages to acquire and develop whatever skills they may have in sketching, painting, composing, instrument-playing, sculpting, acting, etc.

It's important to remember that no one will ever do anything perfectly, and first attempts are generally met with complete or near-total failure. Failure is often seen as an enemy, or simply as a hurdle to be overcome. Real failure, however, is integral to eventual success and (more importantly) to learning and character development. If a child managed to get everything right the first time, there would be no room for improvement, no reason to work hard.

Exercising one's creativity is essential. Humans were created in God's image, which means in part that we are creative beings, and whenever we're creative in ways that honor God, we're imitating Him. To the extent we can train our kids to do this, we should. Encourage them to do the best they can, because in the end they're doing it for God, and He expects nothing less.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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159 Items found Print
Active Filters: 5th grade (Ages 10-11), Hardcover
Aida
by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Barry Bart
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Alice in Orchestralia
by Ernest LaPrade
from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
All About the Symphony Orchestra and What it Plays
All About Books #39
by Dorothy Berliner Commins, illustrated by Warren Chappell
from Random House
for 3rd-8th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
Alphabet of Music
by Robert W. Surplus, illustrated by George Overlie
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Amazing Buildings
by Philip Wilkinson
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-7th grade
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Antonin Dvorak
Julian Messner Shelf of Biographies
by Clair Lee Purdy, illustrated by Edgard Cirlin
from Julian Messner
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Art and Civilization: Ancient Rome
Art and Civilization
by Giovanni Di Pasquale & Matilde Bardi
from Peter Bedrick Books
Roman History Reference for 4th-6th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
Art for Children: Renaissance
Art for Children
by Lillo Canto
from Chelsea House Publishing
Art Appreciation for 4th-6th grade
in Renaissance & Reformation (Location: HISW-REN)
$20.00 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Art of the Southeastern Indians
by Shirley Glubok
from Macmillan
for 3rd-6th grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Baby Blessing
by Welleran Poltarnees
from Laughing Elephant
for Kindergarten-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Bach's Goldberg Variations
by Anna Harwell Celenza & JoAnn E. Kitchel
from Charlesbridge
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
$16.95
Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories
by Jane Yolen & Heidi E.Y. Stemple, illustrated by Rebecca Guay
from Barefoot Books
for 2nd-8th grade
in Dance (Location: ELE-DANCE)
Bartered Bride
by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Howard Arnold
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Beat of the Drum
by Robert W. Surplus, illustrated by George Overlie
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Beethoven
by Reba Paeff Mirsky
from Follett
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Beethoven
by David Jacobs
from Harper & Row
for 4th-8th grade
in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
by Marguerite Henry & Wesley Dennis
from Bobbs-Merril Co
Biography for 1st-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Best Book of Ballet
First Edition from Kingfisher
for 3rd-6th grade
in Dance (Location: ELE-DANCE)
Boris Godunoff
by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Paul Kinnear
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Boyhoods of Great Composers
Young Readers Guides to Music
by Catherine Gough, illustrated by Edward Ardizzone
1961 Reprint from Henry Z. Walck, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Bravo! Brava!
by Anne Siberell
from Oxford University
for 3rd-8th grade
in Opera & Choral Music (Location: ELE-MUSOP)
$24.00 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Brooklyn Bridge
by Lynn Curlee
from Atheneum
for 3rd-6th grade
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Buildings of Ancient Greece
by Helen & Richard Leacroft
from William R. Scott Inc.
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Built to Last
by David Macaulay
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-6th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$24.99
Carl Larsson's A Family
by Carl Larsson and Lennart Rudstrom
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 3rd-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Carl Larsson's A Farm
by Carl Larsson and Lennart Rudstrom
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 3rd-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Carl Larsson's A Home
by Carl Larsson and Lennart Rudstrom
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 3rd-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Carmen
by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Alexandre Serebriakoff
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Child Star
by Lydia Weaver
from Viking Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Great Depression (1929-1939) (Location: HISA-20GD)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Introduction to Art
by Heather Alexander, illustrated by Meredith Hamilton
from Black Dog & Leventhal
for 3rd-6th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Introduction to the Orchestra
by Robert Levine
First Revised Edition from Black Dog & Leventhal
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
$19.99
Chopin
by George Ruttkay
from Hyperion Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Cities Then and Now
by Jim Antoniou
from Macmillan
for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Come Look With Me
by Kimberly Lane
from Charlesbridge
for 3rd-5th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Creating with Fimo Acrylic Clay
by Libby Nicholson & Yvonne Lau
from Kids Can Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Dance
DK Eyewitness Series
by Michael Tambini
1st edition from DK Publishing
history reference for 4th-8th grade
in Dance (Location: ELE-DANCE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Film
DK Eyewitness Series
by Richard Platt
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Theater, Drama & Film (Location: ELE-THEAT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Story of Architecture
by Jonathan Glancey, Sir Norman Foster
1st edition from DK Publishing
for 4th-10th grade
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Duke Ellington
by Andrea Davis Pinkney
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 3rd-6th grade
1999 Caldecott Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Edison
by Torben Kuhlmann, Translated by David Henry Wilson
from NorthSouth
for 2nd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Faust
by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Paul Kinnear
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
First Starry Night
by Joan Shaddox Isom
from Charlesbridge
for 4th-6th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Folk Instruments
by Lee Gilmore, illustrated by George Overlie
Ninth printing, 1972 from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Follow the Leader
by Robert W. Surplus, illustrated by George Overlie
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Franz Schubert and His Merry Friends (hardcover)
by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue
by Anna Harwell Celenza & JoAnn E. Kitchel
from Charlesbridge
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
Girl Who Drew Butterflies
by Joyce Sidman
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for 3rd-8th grade
2019 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.99
Gondoliers, or, The King of Barataria
by Gilbert & Sullivan, adapted by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Sheilah Beckett
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Great Composers
by Piero Ventura
from Penguin Putnam
for 4th-8th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
Great Painters
by Piero Ventura
First edition. from Putnam Juvenile
for 4th-6th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Haensel and Gretel
by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Mildred Boyle
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Handel at the Court of Kings
by Opal Wheeler, illustrated by Mary Greenwalt
1958 Seventh Printing from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Haydn's Farewell Symphony
by Anna Harwell Celenza & JoAnn E. Kitchel
from Charlesbridge
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
$16.95
He Heard America Sing
by Clair Lee Purdy
from Julian Messner
for 4-6
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Heart of the Orchestra
by Jean Craig, illustrated by George Overlie
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
History of France through Art
by Jillian Powell
from Wayland
for 3rd-6th grade
in France (Location: HISMC-FRA)
Holiday Song Book
by Robert Quackenbush, arrangements by Harry Buch
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 3rd-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
How Artists See Feelings
by Colleen Carroll
1st Library Ed from Abbeville Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
How Artists See the Elements
by Colleen Carroll
from Abbeville Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
How They Were Built
from Barnes & Noble
for 3rd-6th grade
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
I Can Draw on the Farm
I Can Draw
by Terry Longhurst
from Parragon Publishing
for 2nd-6th grade
in Drawing for Beginners (Location: ELE-ARTDRAW)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
I, Juan de Pareja
by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño
1994 Printing from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Realistic Fiction/Slavery for 5th-8th grade
1966 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
In Search of Norman Rockwell's America
by Photography by Kevin Rivoli, Artwork by Norman Rockwell
from Howard Books
for 3rd-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Invention of Hugo Cabret
by Brian Selznick
First Edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
2008 Caldecott Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$29.99
Jenny Lind's America
by Frances Cavanah
from Chilton Book Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Jesus of Nazareth
by William Barclay
from Collins
for 3rd-7th grade
in Theater, Drama & Film (Location: ELE-THEAT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Keyboard Instruments
by Lionel & Edith Davis, illustrated by George Overlie
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Leonardo da Vinci
by Emily Hahn
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Leonardo da Vinci
by Jay Williams
from Horizon Books
for 5th-8th grade
in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
Leonardo da Vinci
by Norman V. Marshall
from Silver Burdett Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Leonardo da Vinci
by Ernest Raboff
for 3rd-6th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Leonardo: Beautiful Dreamer
by Robert Byrd
1st edition from Dutton Children's Books
for 3rd-5th grade
2004 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Liberty
by Lynn Curlee
from Atheneum
for 4th-6th grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Lives of the Artists
by M. B. Goffstein
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 3rd-8th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Lohengrin
by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Alexandre Serebriakoff
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Magic Flute
by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Paul Kinnear
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Master Builders of the Middle Ages
by David Jacobs
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 4th-6th grade
in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
Masters of Music: Mozart and Classical Music
by Francesco Salvi
from Barron's
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Matisse: Painter of the Essential
Art for Children
by Yolande Baillet
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Metropolis
by Albert Lorenz
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Mikado
by Gilbert & Sullivan, adapted by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Sheilah Beckett
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Minute Sketches of Great Composers
by Eva v B. Hansl, Helen L. Kaufmann, illustrated by Samuel Nisenson
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biographical sketches for 3rd-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Mosque
by David Macaulay
1st edition from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
My Favorite Songs
by Maria Trapp
from Veritas Press
for Kindergarten-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.00
N.C. Wyeth
by N. C. Wyeth, introduction by Kate F. Jennings
from Crescent Books
for 4th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Nanook of the North
by Robert Flaherty, edited from the film by Robert Kraus
First Printing from Windmill Books
for Kindergarten-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Norman Rockwell's America
by Christopher Finch, Illustrated by Norman Rockwell
from Reader's Digest
for 3rd-Adult
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Norman Rockwell: Storyteller with a Brush
by Beverly Gherman
from Atheneum
for 3rd-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Nutcracker and Swan Lake
by William Appleby & Frederick Fowler
First American Edition, 1968 from Henry Z. Walck, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Dance (Location: ELE-DANCE)
Of Swans, Sugarplums, and Satin Slippers
by Violette Verdy, illustrated by Marcia Brown
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-8th grade
in Dance (Location: ELE-DANCE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Orchard Book of Stories from the Ballet
from Orchard Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Dance (Location: ELE-DANCE)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Parthenon
by Lynn Curlee
from Atheneum
for 2nd-6th grade
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
Petrouchka
by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Alexandre Serebriakoff
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Places of Musical Fame
by Sharon Lerner, illustrated by George Overlie
Revised edition, 1974 from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Playback: The Story of Recording Devices
by Robert K. Krishef, illustrated by George Overlie
Revised edition, 1974 from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Real Book About Easy Music-Making
by Joseph Leeming
1952nd edition from Garden City Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Rousseu: Still Voyages
Art For Children
by Didier Grosjean and Claudine Roland, illustrated by Francine De Boeck, translated by John Goodman
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Royal Book of Ballet
by Shirley Goulden, illustrated by Maraja
from Follett
for 3rd-Adult
in Dance (Location: ELE-DANCE)
Saint George
by Katherine Miller, illustrated by Wallace Tripp
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Self-Portrait: Trina Schart Hyman
from Harper & Row
for 4th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
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