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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136 Items found Print
Active Filters: 7th grade (Ages 12-13), Hardcover
Abide With Me
by John H. Parker, Paul Seawright
from New Leaf Press
for 7th-Adult
in History of Hymns (Location: XCH-HYMN)
Aida
by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Barry Bart
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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)
Amazing Buildings
by Philip Wilkinson
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-7th grade
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
American Barns and Covered Bridges
by Eric Sloane
1st edition from Wilfred Funk, Inc.
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
An Introduction to Medieval Ivory Carvings
by Paul Williamson
from Her Majesty's Stationery Office
for 6th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$5.00 (1 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)
At Home with Beatrix Potter
by Susan Denyer
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 6th-9th grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
Baby Blessing
by Welleran Poltarnees
from Laughing Elephant
for Kindergarten-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Beethoven
by David Jacobs
from Harper & Row
for 4th-8th grade
in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
Beethoven, His Life and Times
by Ates Orga
2nd edition from Paganiniana Publications
for 7th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Boris Godunoff
by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Paul Kinnear
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Bravo! Brava!
by Anne Siberell
from Oxford University
for 3rd-8th grade
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
$24.00 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Brush Drawing as Applied to Natural Forms and Common Objects
by May Mallam
Facsimile Edition from Riverbend Press
for 5th-12th grade
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
Calligraphy
First Steps Series
by Don Marsh
from North Light Books
for 6th-Adult
in Calligraphy (Location: HAN-CALLIG)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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 (illustrator), with 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)
$4.00 (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, His Life and Times
by Ates Orga
from Paganiniana Publications
for 7th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Cities Then and Now
by Jim Antoniou
from Macmillan
for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Create Your Own Artist's Journal
from North Light Books
for 6th-Adult
in Art & Drawing Reference (Location: ELE-ARTREF)
$12.50 (1 in stock)
Cry from the Earth
by John Bierhorst
from Four Winds Press
for 6th-Adult
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$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)
Drawn from New England: Tasha Tudor
by Bethany Tudor, with photographs and drawings by Tasha Tudor
from Philomel Books
for 5th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Faust
by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Paul Kinnear
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Francis Scott Key
by David Collins
from Mott Media
for 5th-7th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$21.99
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 Composers - Great Artists: Portraits
by Stewart Buettner and Reinhard Pauly
from Amadeus Press
for 6th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Haensel and Gretel
by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Mildred Boyle
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Haydn, His Life and Times
by Neil Butterworth
Expanded from Paganiniana Publications
for 7th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
He Heard America Sing
by Clair Lee Purdy
from Julian Messner
for 4-6
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Heritage of Music
by Katherine B. Shippen & Anca Seidlova, illustrated by Otto Van Eersel
from Viking Press
for 7th-Adult
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
History Sings
by Hazel Gertrude Kinscella
from University Publishing Company
American Music History for 7th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Holiday Song Book
by Robert Quackenbush, arrangements by Harry Buch
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 3rd-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Howard Pyle
by Henry C. Pitz, with illustrations by Howard Pyle
from Bramhall House
for 7th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
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)
Illuminated Page
by Janet Backhouse
from University of Toronto Press
for 7th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$12.00 (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)
Jesus of Nazareth
by William Barclay
from Collins
for 3rd-7th grade
in Theater, Drama & Film (Location: ELE-THEAT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
John James Audubon
Landmark #48
by John & Margaret Kieran, illustrated by Christine Price
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
John James Audubon: Painting America's Wildlife
by Janet Stevenson, illustrated by Robert Boehmer
from Encyclopedia Britannica
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Kate Greenaway
by Rodney K. Engen
from Harmony
for 6th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
King of Song
by Ruth & Paul Hume, illustrated by Irene Murray
from Hawthorn Books, Inc.
for 6th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Leonardo da Vinci
by Emily Hahn, illustrated by Mimi Korach
from Random House
for 6th-9th 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: Pathfinder of Science
Immortals of Science
by Henry Gillette
from Franklin Watts
for 7th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Life & Times of Beethoven
by Gino Pugnetti
from Curtis Publishing Co.
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Lighthouses
by Arthur Smith
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Lion of Poland
by Ruth & Paul Hume, illustrated by Lili Réthi
from Hawthorn Books, Inc.
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
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)
Masters of Art: Chagall
by Gianni Pozzi, illustrated by Claudia Saraceni & L. R. Galante
1st edition from Peter Bedrick Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Masters of Art: Giotto and Medieval Art
by Lucia Corrain, illustrated by Sergio, with the assistance of Andrea Ricciardi
from Peter Bedrick Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Masters of Art: Goya
by Mariarosa Schiaffino, illustrated by Claudia Saraceni & Thomas Trojer
from Peter Bedrick Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Masters of Art: Leonardo da Vinci
Masters of Art Series
by Francesca Romei, illustrated by Sergio and Andrea Ricciardi
from Peter Bedrick Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Masters of Art: Michaelangelo
Masters of Art
by Gabriella di Cagno, illustrated by Simone Boni & L. R. Galante
from Peter Bedrick Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
Masters of Art: Picasso
by Loria Stefano, illustrated by Simone Boni & L. R. Galante
from Peter Bedrick Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Masters of Art: Rembrandt and Seventeenth-Century Holland
Masters of Art
by Claudio Pescio, illustrated by Sergio
1st edition from Peter Bedrick Books
for 5th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Masters of Art: The Art of the Renaissance
by Lucia Corrain, illustrated by L. R. Galante & Simone Boni
from Peter Bedrick Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Masters of Art: The Impressionists
by Francesco Salvi, illustrated by L. R. Galante & Andrea Ricciardi
from Peter Bedrick Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Masters of Art: The Story of Architecture
by Francesco Milo, illustrated by Lorenzo Cecchi, Studio Galante, and Andrea Ricciardi
from Peter Bedrick Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Masters of Art: The Story of Sculpture
by Francesca Romei, illustrated by Giacinto Gaudenzi
1st edition from Peter Bedrick Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Masters of Art: Van Gogh
by Enrica Crispino, illustrated by Simone Boni, Francesca D'Ottavi, L. R. Galante & Ivan Stalio
from Peter Bedrick Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Masters of Music: Bach and Baroque Music
by Stefano Catucci
from Barron's
Biography for 4th-9th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
Masters of Music: Chopin and Romantic Music
by Carlo Cavalletti, illustrated by Studio Inklink
from Barron's
for 5th-9th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
Masters of Music: Jazz and Its History
by Giuseppe Vigna, illustrations by Studio Boni-Pieri-Critone
from Barron's
for 5th-9th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
Masters of Music: Mozart and Classical Music
by Francesco Salvi
from Barron's
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
Masters of Music: Music of the World
by Andrea Bergamini, illustrated by Studio L. R. Galante
from Barron's
for 4th-8th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
Masters of Music: The History of Rock Music
by Andrea Bergamini, illustrated by Studio L. R. Galante
from Barron's
for 6th-9th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
Mathew Brady: Photographing History
by Manual Komroff, with photographs by Mathew Brady
from Encyclopedia Britannica
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer & Cinerama Present How the West Was Won
from Random House
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$5.00 (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)
Monuments to Glory
by Daniel M. Madden, illustrated by Lili Réthi
from Hawthorn Books, Inc.
for 6th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
More Stories of Favorite Operas
by Clyde Robert Bulla, illustrated by Robert Galster
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Mozart, His Life and Times
by Peggy Woodford
from Paganiniana Publications
for 7th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Music to Remember
by Lillian Baldwin
from Silver Burdett Press
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (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: Storyteller with a Brush
by Beverly Gherman
from Atheneum
for 3rd-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Petrouchka
by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Alexandre Serebriakoff
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Randolph Caldecott
by Leonard S. Marcus
from Frances Foster Books
for 7th-Adult
in Oversized Biographies (Location: BIO-OVER)
Rembrandt and Titus
by Madeleine Comora
1st edition
for 4th-8th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Renaissance
by Alison Cole
from DK Publishing
Art Appreciation for 4th-8th grade
in Renaissance & Reformation (Location: HISW-REN)
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: Erik Blegvad
from Harper & Row
for 4th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Self-Portrait: Margot Zemach
by Margot Zemach
from Harper & Row
for 4th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
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