The Wichita Falls Public Library is celebrating National Arts and Humanities Month by providing a reading list for young and adult readers. Check out the library’s recommendations!

YOUTH BOOKS

• Modern Art Mayhem by Susie Hodge
  It uses the format of a plot-your-own story about a boy trying to set up an art exhibit to provide information about nineteenth and twentieth-century art and artists.
• Architecture According to Pigeons by Speck Lee 
  Tailfeather Pigeon, Speck Lee Tailfeather, takes the reader on a journey, touring the world’s most iconic architecture, including the Sydney Opera House, Tower Bridge, and Agbar Tower.
• The Prehistoric Masters of Art by Elise Wallace 
  Prehistory-themed humor introduces young readers to art history in engaging ways, sharing a range of artist biographies for such dino-masters as “Leonardo da Vilociraptor,” “Vincent Vanaguanodon” and “Frida Kahlolophus.”
• Artists and Their Pets by Susie Hodge 
  A collection of true stories about the lesser-known relationships between famous artists and their pets includes profiles of Pablo Picasso’s goat and white mouse, Andy Warhol’s dachshunds, Salvador Dali’s ocelots, Georgia O’Keefe’s Siamese cats, and more.
• Museum ABC by Metropolitan Museum of Art 
  This colorful alphabet picture book introduces young readers to each letter by presenting a specific word alongside four pictures from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection.
• Come Look with Me: Enjoying Art with Children by Gladys S. Blizzard 
  Presents twelve color reproductions of paintings by artists from Holbein to Picasso, with questions to stimulate discussion and background information on each artist and painting.

TEEN & ADULTS BOOKS

• The Brilliant History of Color in Art by Victoria Finlay 
  Presents the primary colors as they appear in great works of art throughout history, from the cave paintings of the Ice Age to the modern works of today, offering little-known facts, anecdotes, and the science behind the creation of each individual color.
• The African Look Book: A Visual History of 100 Years of African Women by Catherine E. McKinley 
  A curator and writer, drawing on her extensive collection of historical and contemporary photos, presents this unprecedented visual history of African women across centuries.
• Women Artists of the West: Five Portraits in Creativity and Courage by Julie Danneberg 
  Narrative profiles of five notable women artists who influenced the art of the American West.
• Musicals: The Definitive Illustrated Story by Elaine Paige
  From Show Boat and The Wizard of Oz to Les Misérables and Hamilton, discover the story of musical theatre and see the musicals brought to life.
• Moscow Nights: The Van Cliburn Story-How One Man and His Piano Transformed the Cold War by Nigel Cliff 
  A dramatic account of the life of Cold War pianist Van Cliburn describes his early years as a musical prodigy in Texas and the ways he charmed both American and Russian audiences, helping to ease tensions between the two nations.
• Shakespeare’s Ear: Dark, Strange, and Fascinating Tales from the World of Theater by Tim Rayborn 
  From theatrical shenanigans from Mesopotamia to Camus, a dark and sometimes humorous collection of facts and folklore that bedevil the mostly unknown history of theater proves that the drama off-stage—including revenge, affairs, and persecution—was just as intense as any portrayed on it.
• A Chronology of Architecture: A Cultural Timeline From Stone Circles to Skyscrapers by John Zukowsky 
  A fresh take on the history of architecture, using cultural timelines to reveal little-known connections between society, engineering, and design.
• American Portrait: the Story of Us, Told by Us by PBS 
  “Based on the popular and revolutionary PBS multi-platform documentary project, a photographic portrait that captures the tumultuous, historic year that was 2020, offering an intimate look at the heart and soul of our national life and what it means to be an American today, revealed through the stories of ordinary people.”