Anna at the Art Museum

It's great to have books that inspire kids to go to the museum, and prepare them to what it is, so that it is less scary for them. I was even more pleasant when I thought it was with people of colors! Finally! But then, I felt a little bit taken aback by the very-low quality of the illustrations and by the overall message of the book. Anna is bored, very very bored at the museum. She starts doing everything her mom told her not to do: climbing, touching, screaming... Her mom spends lots of time on her phone and is often far away from her, which doesn't help much... In the end, a kind museum guard allows her to explore a mysterious workshop, and there she has the biggest revelation! There's a painted grumpy girl, and she looks just like her! She then realized the magic of art, and how the inside world reflects the outside world. The ending is full of magic feelings, which makes it ends nicely and smoothly.

I still feel doubtful about the overall message of the book. I feel like for the kids reading this book, they will be able to relate to what they are not supposed to do, but then, they might not have access to the same kind of magical revelation, or see themselves in the art pieces, which will make it harder for them to live Anna's magical revelation. I wish this book could have spent more time exploring some dialogues between the mom and the daughter, to look at the art together, to explain the links between the “inside and the outside worlds”... This kind of book is needed, but I feel like this could have been done in a better way.

Thank you NetGalley and Annick Press Ltd for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Read and reviewed: 2018-11-01