Mountains, Planets, and Picture Books

View

Fuiji, Mountains in Clear Weather — also known as “Fine Wind, Clear Morning” — by Katushika Hokusai. Hokusai loved to paint Mount Fuji, and this is one of his most famous paintings of it. The painting is only 25.72 cm by 38 cm and is a wood-block print in a the Japanese style called ukiyo-e. Tell all you notice in this painting. What colors, shapes, textures, lines, and angles stand out to you? Find out where Mount Fuji is on a map, and look up more details about it if interested. Also, think about the way the colors of things around you change because of the light throughout the day.`

Observe

Read Stephanie Russell’s article on Geology, grab a book about your local geology, and head out on a geology walk. Who knows what new ideas will come to mind and what new things you’ll notice!`

Listen

Continuing with the geological theme, enjoy Gustav Holst’s “The Planets.” With its vigorous and varying melodies which depict different planets, Holst’s suite is a fun and accessible piece for all ages.`

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What inspired you?`

Featured Resources

Good picture books can bring living ideas to readers, whether they are 2, 22, or 102 and are an easy and fun way to both enrich your own home or classroom and invite others into a living education. One Mason educator has quipped that she only lets picture books into her house that she wants to read as much as her children. And there are lots of wonderful ones about many different topics. So if you are looking for book ideas for your students, in need of a baby shower gift or a gift for the grandkids, or hoping to start a class library, picture books might be part of the solution. In today’s post, we’re offering a small collection of some favorite picture books on topics related to Nature and Art. Enjoy!

• Sky Tree by Thomas Locker
• Nature Apprentice Series: Pond watching, Bird Watching, Flower Watching,
• At This Very Moment (and others) by Jim Arnosky
• Tom and the Small Ant by Leonore Klein
• Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
• Swirl by Swirl by Joyce Sidman
• An Egg is Quiet (and others) by Dianna Hutts Aston
• The Raft by Jim LaMarche
• Close to the Wind by Peter Malone
• Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco
• The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane
• Gladiola Garden by Effie Lee Newsome
• You Can’t Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum by Jacqueline Wietzman
• Degas, Painter of Ballerinas by Suan Rubin
• My Name is Georgia: A Portrait by Jeanette WInter
• A Farm: Paintings from a Bygone Age by Carl Larsson
• Carmen and the House that Gaudi Built by Susan Hughes
• Linnea in Monet’s Garden by Christina Bjork
• A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant
• Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
• The Gardener by Sarah Stewart
• Katie Books by James Mayhew
• Can You FInd It? by Judith Cressy
• Can You Hear It? by William Lach
• James Herriot’s Treasury for Children