Check Me Out - Haven May 2025

ARTCURIOUS

By: Jennifer Dasal

We’re all familiar with the works of Claude Monet, thanks in no small part to the ubiquitous reproductions of his water lilies on umbrellas, handbags, and scarves. But did you also know that Monet and his cohort were trailblazing rebels whose works were originally deemed unbelievably ugly and vulgar? “ArtCurious” is a color- ful look at art history, revealing some of the strangest, funniest, and most fascinating stories behind the world’s great artists and masterpieces.

YOUR BRAIN ON ART

By: Susan Magsamen & Ivy Ross

What is art? Many of us think of the arts as entertain- ment—a luxury of some kind. In “Your Brain on Art,” we see how activities from painting and dancing to expres- sive writing, architecture, and more are essential to our lives. This book is a portal into this new understanding of how the arts and aesthetics can help us transform traditional medicine, build healthier communities, and mend an aching planet.

SNIPPETS

By: Diane Alber

In “Snippets,” discover a very powerful message while learning shapes at the same time. Snippet finds himself in a world full of perfect shapes and soon realizes his odd shape doesn’t fit in. Despite being put down by his abnormally long top, Snippet’s confidence in his unique shape gives him the ability to show how everyone is stronger together than when they are apart.

RADIANT CHILD

By: Javaka Steptoe

Jean-Michel Basquiat and his unique, collage-style paintings rocketed to fame in the 1980s. But before that, he was a little boy who saw art everywhere and in the pulsing energy of New York City. Now, award-winning illustrator Javaka Steptoe’s vivid text and bold artwork echoing Basquiat’s own introduce young readers to the powerful message that art doesn’t always have to be neat or clean--and definitely not inside the lines-- to be beautiful.

ART HISTORY FOR EVERYONE

By: Kristine T. G. Hardeberg

Does the thought of going to an art museum make your eyes glaze over? What if someone could make art come alive? In “Art History for Everyone,” you’ll meet some of history’s most important works of art. You’ll be surprised and excited by beautiful and strange paintings and intriguing sculptures—and get to know the people behind these works of art and their exciting stories.

NEW KID

By: Jerry Craft

Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds—and not really fitting into either one.

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY

By: Oscar Wilde

How can one even describe a classic like this? This is one of my favorite classic novels from the suspense and the slow unraveling of Dorian’s sanity over time. Wilde has a way with drama (which makes sense since this is his only novel rather than plays) and you’ll be sucked in from the very first page. 10/10 would recommend reading (or reading again).

CHASING VERMEER

By: Blue Balliett

When a book of unexplainable occurrences brings Petra and Calder together, strange things start to hap- pen. Before they know it, the two find themselves at the center of an international art scandal, where no one is spared from suspicion. As Petra and Calder are drawn clue by clue into a mysterious labyrinth, they must draw on their powers of intuition, their problem solving skills, and their knowledge of Vermeer.

LUST FOR LIFE

By: Irving Stone

“Lust for Life” is a semi-fictional re-telling of Vincent Van Gogh‘s life story, battling poverty and mental turmoil. Using more than 700 letters from Van Gogh to his brother Theo as his foundation, Stone poetically narrates the tormented life of the celebrated artist with a raw quality, fictionalizing some minor parts which seamlessly blend with the real ones into a fantastic biographical volume.

MINI ARTISTS

By: Joséphine Seblon

The twenty projects in “Mini Artists” engage children with art through making. “Mini artists” will discover drip painting with Jackson Pollock, carve soap sculp- tures with Barbara Hepworth, and create their own obliteration room with Yayoi Kusama. They’ll travel through time and explore art from different periods, from cave painting to Medieval stained glass, Chinese ink painting to washable graffiti inspired by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Grounded in art history, “Mini Artists” also features a range of interesting art techniques that are ideal for teaching new motor skills.