Gallery Ghost: "Arty" Fun For Your Kids

I come across a lot of toys everyday and some really stand out from the rest. Gallery Ghost:Find the Ghost Who Paints the Most! from Birdcage Press, belongs to that "special" category. I guess you could classify it as a book that you play with. Gallery Ghost is all about the world of art. It is a hardcover book featuring paintings from various international artists including George Catlin, Paul Klee, J.M.W. Turner and many more that are on display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The book has a rather unique style - the pages are split in half so you can easily view multiple paintings at the same time.

I'm sure that the burning question in your mind is, "So, how does one "play" with art?". Well, Gallery Ghost also has some mischievous visitors, a ghost, if you can believe it! For every original painting featured in the book, there is also a replica by the ghost. The object of the book/game is to spot the differences between the original painting and the "ghostly" version. There is an included scorecard by which kids can keep track of their work. There is an included magnifier to make spotting the differences easier.

The reason why I liked Gallery Ghost so much is that it's a perfect way to expose your kids to the history of art and artists. Under each painting, there's a short poem poem by Betsy Franco which briefly speaks about the painter’s philosophy or technique. There's also an illustration by Richard Sala which is a cartoon style depiction of the artist. The book is written by Anna Nilsen. Check out the Gallery Ghost: Find the ghost who paints the most! at Birdcage Press.