cover image Edgar Degas: Paintings That Dance: Paintings That Dance

Edgar Degas: Paintings That Dance: Paintings That Dance

Maryann Cocca-Leffler. Grosset & Dunlap, $5.99 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-448-42520-7

With a clear, accessible format, the Smart About Art series kicks off with Edgar Degas: Paintings that Dance by Maryann Cocca-Leffler; Claude Monet: Sunshine and Waterlilies by True Kelley; and Vincent van Gogh: Sunflowers and Swirly Stars by Joan Holub. Each presents factual information about each artist in the style of a school report, interjecting the narrative with the voice of a child writer. In Degas, for instance, ""author"" Kristin pastes in a photograph of herself in fourth position (aping one of Degas's sketches of a ballet dancer); in Monet, the narrator compares two paintings of the same scene, one by Renoir and one by Monet. Full-color photos and reproductions of the paintings illustrate the text.