Looking at Pictures: an Introduction to Art for Young People, by Joy Richardson, is an interesting and informative introduction to the world of art. Contrary to the title, this book is suitable for all ages! We give it an A+

In just 77 pages, Richardson takes the reader through a comprehensive exploration of art history, art analysis, and museum science. The reader quickly not only becomes familiar with painters, styles, composition, media, and how paintings were created, but also learns about the stories behind each featured painting through a clear and succinct summary of the mythology, history, or other topic depicted.

Richardson's descriptions are both simple enough for young readers to understand and in depth enough for even those well versed in art to appreciate and enjoy. Her style of writing is highly informative without sounding like a lecture, captivating and insightful without overwhelming the reader with details.

"Paint is made up of a coloured powder, or pigment, mixed with a liquid binder, or medium. Pigments can be extracted from plants, insects, earth or minerals or they can be manufactured from metals. Then they are ground into a powder and mixed with a medium such as glue, egg or linseed oil to make a paint.

Paint made by mixing a pigment with egg looks different from paint made by mixing the same pigment with oil, and it also behaves quite differently. Egg tempera dries quickly, so the artist has to work fast with small, precise brushstrokes. Oil paint is slow drying, so the painter has time to draw out long brushstrokes. He can push the paint around, paint thickly or thinly, or change his mind and paint one colour over another even before the first layer is dry. Being able to do this affected the kind of pictures artists produced."

Richardson then goes on to describe how the 16th century artist Titian was affected by the pigments and media available to him to create his famous painting Bacchus and Ariadne.

As should be expected from a good art book, this book is full of reproductions of famous paintings, all of which are housed in the National Gallery in London, England. Richardson additionally includes many helpful diagrams for composition, and close ups of certain areas of interest within the paintings. For example, to compliment the description quoted above, and further illustrate this knowledge in relation to Titian's work, Richardson provides a full page print of the work, and provides separate close ups of colors found in the painting with descriptions of what pigments were used, where those pigments came from, and if they were expensive or common.