Part of the highly-successful Anholt's Artists series about great painters, which tells the stories of real meetings between world-famous artists and the children who knew them. When Julie's dog disappears into a mysterious garden, Julie follows him - and finds herself in a beautiful garden-within-a-garden where the roses grow like splashes of paint and a Japanese bridge bows over a silent pool. There she finds not only her dog, but also Claude Monet. The famous artist introduces her to his work and his garden, giving her encouragement that the young would-be artist will never forget. Set against the romantic, world-famous backdrop of Monet's garden at Giverny, the story is accompanied by reproductions of the artist's most celebrated paintings and a biographical note on Monet.


A lovely book about artist, Vincent van Gogh from the series, Anholt's Artists Books for Children. Where Camille lived, the sunflowers grew so high they looked like real suns. One day a man arrived in Camille's town. Camille meets the man, and they become friends. This man is the painter named Vincent van Gogh.

Parents, teachers, and gift givers will find:

  • gorgeous illustrations and reproductions of works by the artists
  • a fun and educational story for home or the classroom
  • a great series to be used for home school materials
  • a whole series of books for children to learn about important artists!

Author and illustrator Laurence Anholt recalls memorable and sometimes amusing moments when the lives of the artists were touched by children. Anholt's fine illustrations appear on every page and include reproductions of works by the artists.


Leonardo and the Flying Boy

by Laurence Anholt

Published 1 September 2000

Zoro is the young pupil of the amazing painter, sculptor, scientist and inventor, Leonardo da Vinci. Every day he works hard in Leonardo's workshop, mixing colours, cleaning paintbrushes and practising his drawings. But he is never allowed inside the secret locked room, where Leonardo spends hours hammering and sawing at a mysterious invention. One day Leonardo brings a mischievous boy named Salai to work for him. He is so intrigued by the secret room that he steals the keys to find out what is inside... Leonardo and the Flying Boy provides an exciting introduction to the great genius of the Italian Renaissance, with reproductions of Leonardo's own work.

Here is the fascinating story -- based on true fact -- of a world-famous artist and a little girl who became one of his models. Sylvette first met Picasso in 1954, when she was a girl in the southern French town of Vallauris. At that time, she was the shyest and dreamiest girl among her friends, though today, she is a respected artist in her own right. When Picasso set up his studio in a nearby house, he spotted young Sylvette and was taken immediately by her classical profile and her lovely ponytail. When at last he convinced her to pose for what became the first of more than forty works of art, the two gradually became good friends. Before long, Picasso's portraits of Sylvette became famous around the world.

Young Camille befriends a strange visitor to his small town, and one day he brings this man a gift of bright, beautiful sunflowers. The man is the artist Vincent van Gogh, and the sunflowers quickly become the subject of a magnificent painting. In B.E.S. Anholt's Artists Books for Children series, author and illustrator Laurence Anholt recalls memorable and sometimes amusing moments when the lives of the artists were touched by children. Anholt's fine illustrations appear on every page and include reproductions of works by the artists.

Many years ago, Marie hoped to be a famous ballerina, but because her family had too little money for lessons she began modeling at the ballet school. The painter for whom she modeled was the artist, Edgar Degas. As Degas' figure of The Little Dancer took shape, Marie began to feel sympathy for the bad-tempered artist. When the sculpture was finished, thousands of art lovers came to see the statue, making Marie the most famous dancer of all. Here is an exquisite introduction to the life of a great nineteenth-century French artist, with beautiful impressionistic illustrations and reproductions of Degas' own work.

Sylvette was a shy girl with many secrets. She dreamed of being an artist, but no one knew of her plans. One summer, the famous Picasso came to Sylvette's town, Vallauris. Amazingly, out of all the people in the town, Picasso chose her as his model. Gradually, Sylvette came to view the famous artist as a father and told him of her secret ambitions. Sylvette and Picasso tells the true story of Sylvette David, who modelled for Picasso in 1954. She now lives in the West of England, where she works as a painter and sculptor.

Matisse, King of Colour

by Laurence Anholt

Published 1 October 2007

This is the sixth title in the highly-successful Anholt's Artists series about great painters. Each book tells the story of real meetings between a world-famous artist and a child who inspired him in his work, with reproductions of some of the artist's most famous works. This book describes the close relationship between Matisse and Monique, a young girl who wants to become a nun. Matisse develops a sketch drawn by Monique into a set of stained-glass windows and starts raising money to build a chapel for the nuns at Vence, in south-west France. Finally one morning when the chapel is finished, Monique sees the special magic of Matisse's design: when the sun's rays creep into the chapel, transforming its black and white interior into a fantastic sea of blue and green light!