“Gallery Ghost” by Anna Nilson, 2008, Birdcage Press, $17.95, hardbound, 40 pages: A recipient of the Independent Publisher Book Awards, “Gallery Ghost” is a game rather than a story. Art student Sarah cleans the museum at night and plays games with the ghosts there. In this book she invites the reader to join the fun.
Twenty-four ghosts haunt the museum, all having been artists in life; they are now famous. Artists from around the world are here, from England to France, the Netherlands and America. The earliest artist (Rogier van der Weyden) was born in 1399, and the most recent (Marguerite Zorach) died in 1968. The reader is briefly introduced to each of them before embarking on the search for the ghost who painted the most changes in other artists’ works.
Next, the reader is given the rules and how-to of the game. A score sheet is included, as well as a bookmark which doubles as a magnifying glass. Then, the pages are divided into upper and lower halves. The lower halves bear the images of real paintings from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the upper halves depict paintings that the ghosts have altered. It’s the reader’s job to compare the real works with the altered ones in order to find out which ghost made the most changes. In the process, the reader learns more about the artists who painted each work of art.
At dawn, the ghostly changes will vanish, and one ghost will be declared the winner. A score sheet shows the correct number of changes in each painting, as well as the correct number of changes by each artist. This score sheet can then be compared to the reader’s score sheet to see if the reader’s calculations are correct.
Afterwards, there is further information on each of the artists, along with images of each altered painting, this time with the changes circled so the reader may see what he or she has missed. The game is a bit complex. Finding the changes without being familiar with any of the artists’ styles is a challenge, and the magnifying glass comes in handy. Looking this closely at each painting, the reader who pays attention is bound to remember some details, and therefore become more familiar with the artists’ works. However, some readers may become frustrated at the sheer volume of paintings to examine; written for ages 7 and up.
Lee’s take: A fun way to learn art history.
J.J.’s take: Great for kids who are interested in art or history.
LEE AND J.J. MACFADDEN are twins and voracious readers living in Bristol Tennessee. E-mail them at leeandjj.doubletake@yahoo.com.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement