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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329 Items found Print
Active Filters: Hardcover
102 Favorite Paintings By Norman Rockwell
by Norman Rockwell
from Crown Publishers
for 7th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
60 Minutes to Better Painting
by Craig Nelson
from North Light Books
for Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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)
All Shook Up
Pivotal Moments in American History
by Glenn C. Altschuler
from Oxford University
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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 & the Bible for Children
by Joshua Olds & Barry Stebbing
from How Great Thou Art
for Preschool-3rd grade
in How Great Thou Art (Location: ELE-ARTHGTA)
$29.95
Art and Artists of Russia
by Richard Hare
from Methuen
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
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 Illuminated Letters
by Patricia Seligman, calligraphy by Timothy Noad
from Past Times
for 9th-Adult
in Calligraphy (Location: HAN-CALLIG)
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)
Art: Over 2,500 Works from Cave to Contemporary
from DK Publishing
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse
by Eric Carle
from Philomel Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
ARTistic Pursuits Grades K-3 Volume 7
by Brenda Ellis
from Artistic Pursuits
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in ARTistic Pursuits (Location: ELE-ARTPUR)
$32.00 (1 in stock)
ARTistic Pursuits Grades K-3 Volume 8
by Brenda Ellis
from Artistic Pursuits
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in ARTistic Pursuits (Location: ELE-ARTPUR)
$32.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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
Bach: His Life and Times
by Tim Dowley
1st edition from Hippocrene Books
for 9th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
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)
Beatles vs The Rolling Stones
by Jim Derogatis and Greg Kot
from Voyageur Press
for 9th-Adult
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Beethoven's Heroic Symphony (Once Upon a Masterpiece)
from Charlesbridge
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
$16.95
Beethoven, His Life and Times
by Ates Orga
2nd edition from Paganiniana Publications
for 7th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
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)
Best Known Gilbert & Sullivan Operas and Bab Ballads
by William Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan
from Halcyon House
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Boll Weevil
by Glen Rounds
from Golden Gate Junior Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Boris Godunoff
by Robert Lawrence, illustrated by Paul Kinnear
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Boy Who Loved Music
by David Lasker
1st edition from Viking Press
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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)
Building
by Elisha Cooper
1st edition from Greenwillow Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$7.50 (2 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 George Sullivan
from Scholastic Inc.
for 8th-Adult
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$10.00 (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
Calligraphy School
by Gaynor Goffe and Anna Ravenscroft
from Reader's Digest
for 9th-Adult
in Calligraphy (Location: HAN-CALLIG)
Camille and the Sunflowers
by Laurence Anholt
1st edition from Barron's
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Camille Pissarro
by Alix Wood
from Windmill Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (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 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)
Chapels and Meeting Houses
by Kenneth Lindley
from John Baker
for 8th-Adult
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Charlton Heston Presents: The Bible
by Charlton Heston, Tom Robotham
from GT Publishing
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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 Book of Art
by Lucy Micklethwait
from DK Publishing
for Preschool-1st grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$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 Ballet
by Laura Lee
from Black Dog & Leventhal
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Dance (Location: ELE-DANCE)
Child's Introduction to Ballet
by Laura Lee
Revised from Black Dog & Leventhal
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Dance (Location: ELE-DANCE)
$19.99
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)
Chopin, His Life and Times
by Ates Orga
from Paganiniana Publications
for 7th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Christmas Carols
by Compiled by Frank Edwin Peat, Illustrated by Fern Bisel Peat
from Saalfield Publishing Co.
for Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Cities Then and Now
by Jim Antoniou
from Macmillan
for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Cloth Lullaby: The Woven Life of Louise Bourgeois
by Amy Novesky, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Clothing for Women
Lippincott's Home Manuals
by Laura I. Baldt
1922 Printing from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Come Look With Me
by Kimberly Lane
from Charlesbridge
for 3rd-5th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Come Look With Me: Artist at Work
by R. Sarah Richardson
from Charlesbridge
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$16.95
Come Look with Me: Enjoying Art with Children
by Gladys S. Blizzard
from Charlesbridge
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$12.00
Come Look With Me: Exploring Landscape Art With Children
by Gladys S. Blizzard
from Charlesbridge
for 1st-3rd grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$16.95
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)
Creative Calligraphy
by Malcolm Couch
from Todtri Productions Limited
for 9th-Adult
in Calligraphy (Location: HAN-CALLIG)
Cry from the Earth
by John Bierhorst
from Four Winds Press
for 6th-Adult
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Diego Rivera
by Duncan Tonatiuh
First Edition from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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 My Picture Art Class
by Nellie Shepherd
1st edition from DK Children
for Preschool-3rd grade
$5.00 (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)
Double Bass Blues
by Andrea J. Loney
First Edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Drawing with Pen and Ink
by Arthur L. Guptill, edited and revised by Henry C. Pitz
1968 Printing, Revised Edition from Reinhold Book Corp.
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$24.00 (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)
Dynamic Watercolours
from David & Charles Limited
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
Edison
by Torben Kuhlmann, Translated by David Henry Wilson
from NorthSouth
for 2nd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Essential Claude Monet
by Catherine Morris
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 9th-12th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Eye for Color
by Natasha Wing, Art by Julia Breckenreid
from Henry Holt and Company
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Eye of the Artist
by Jack Clifton
from Watson-Guptill Publications
for Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Flying to Neverland with Peter Pan
by J. M. Barrie, Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Carolyn Leigh
from Blue Apple
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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)
Frederic Chopin
by Victor Seroff
from Macmillan
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
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
Girl with a Watering Can
by Ewa Zadrzynska, illustrated by Arnold Skolnick
from Chameleon Books, Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Glory and Honor
Leaders in Action Series
by Gregory Wilbur
from Cumberland House
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Leaders in Action (Location: BIO-LIA)
Golden Encyclopedia of Music
by Norman Lloyd
from Western Publishing
for 8th-Adult
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Gonna Sing My Head Off
by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Allen Garns
First Printing from Scholastic Reference
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Music Education & Reference (Location: ELE-MUSREF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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