Bridget's Beret

Bridget's Beret by Tom Lichtenheld, Christy Ottaviano Books (Henry Holt and Co.), 2010, ISBN 978-0-8050-8775-8
PS: When Bridget loses the beret that provides her with artistic inspiration like other great artists, she thinks she will never be able to draw again.
Cute, colorful book about drawing and painting and good old childhood enthusiasm! The author slips in a few references to famous artwork by Warhol, Van Gogh, Whistler, and whoever drew the Uncle Sam "I Wnat You" posters. At the back of the book you'll find "How to Start Your Art: Bridget-approved ideas for inspiring yourself, based on techniques used by many famous beret-wearing artists." For more ideas and inspiration, check out the author's website.

The Secret World of Walter Anderson by Hester Bass

The Secret World of Walter Anderson by Hester Bass, illustrated by E. B. Lewis. Candlewick Press, 2009.
The author describes Walter Anderson as a "man who loved nature, an artist, and an islander. He may be the most famous American painter you've never heard of." She also says "art is an adventure, and Walter Anderson was an explorer, first class." This book is written so that it makes perfectly clear how much of an adventurer Anderson was, and his love of nature is evident. EB Lewis's illustrations, though starkly different from Anderson's style of painting, are perfect for this story. They evoke the heat of the beach, the quiet mystery of pre-dawn, the laziness of Anderson's days on Horn Island. Between the author's careful words and descriptions, and the illustrator's stunning pictures, the reader comes away with a very good picture of "the painter you'ven ever heard of."