Children may find the method of learning to draw with a brush instead of a pencil easy to do. After mastering use of the brush for drawing, brushwork teaches expression by means of light and shade; bold, simple work, general effect rather than detail; suggestive rather than exact.

Learn the art of Brushwork in this book written for elementary schools. The lessons included have been successfully given to classes and the difficulties in learning this fine craft have been greatly reduced when students follow the rules within.

It is hardly necessary to-day to advance a plea for the teaching of drawing, design, and craft-work. Their importance is, or should be, recognised by all authorities on education. It is well, however, that the teacher should have a clear comprehension of the part played by these subjects in the development of the intellect and character of the scholar. This is essential, firstly, that he may have confidence in his teaching, with a corresponding strength of purpose and enthusiasm; and, secondly, that he may be in a position to defend effectively his belief in the work he is doing. Despite the fact that the majority of educational authorities recognise its value, critics still abound who would have us believe that such work merely panders to effeminate tastes and a love of luxury, whilst denying its practical utility. Such critics need to be confuted, and this can only be done by formulating definite reasons for the serious study of the subjects in hand. At the outset we must recognise that man is complex and many-sided, hence his needs are complex and multifarious. An unfortunate tendency exists in some quarters to regard human beings merely as productive machines with a capacity for executing so much work upon which the profit (usually accruing to those holding this view) will be so much, and that education should, therefore, be designed on this basis. Such an opinion is unworthy of consideration, and may be dismissed at once. It must be granted that, as far as possible, all human capacities are worth developing, otherwise the curriculum will have a bias, tending to develop certain faculties, leaving others to become atrophied. It is in some such comprehensive scheme that art work, as here dealt with, plays its part. It develops certain powers for which no scope is permitted in other subjects. The faculty of observation is quickened by training the vision, whilst the memory is cultivated to retain the images thus correctly seen. Drawing is a method of expression older by far, and more natural than writing, for the alphabet in use to-day is a development of early picture writing. Again, the child as soon as he can walk endeavours to express graphically the beings and objects amongst which he lives, making no attempt to write.

A page-turning novel that is also an exploration of the great philosophical concepts of Western thought, Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World has fired the imagination of readers all over the world, with more than twenty million copies in print. One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, with one question on each: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" From that irresistible beginning, Sophie becomes obsessed with questions that take her far beyond what she knows of her Norwegian village. Through those letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher, while receiving letters addressed to another girl. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up? To unravel this riddle, Sophie must use the philosophy she is learning—but the truth turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined.

A collection of rhymes and poems for the young of all ages.

The daily lives of ordinary people are replete with objects, common things used in commonplace settings. These objects are our constant companions in life. As such, writes Soetsu Yanagi, they should be made with care and built to last, treated with respect and even affection. They should be natural and simple, sturdy and safe - the aesthetic result of wholeheartedly fulfilling utilitarian needs. They should, in short, be things of beauty. In an age of feeble and ugly machine-made things, these essays call for us to deepen and transform our relationship with the objects that surround us. Inspired by the work of the simple, humble craftsmen Yanagi encountered during his lifelong travels through Japan and Korea, they are an earnest defence of modest, honest, handcrafted things - from traditional teacups to jars to cloth and paper. Objects like these exemplify the enduring appeal of simplicity and function: the beauty of everyday things.

A compendium of step-by-step drawing exercises from the best-selling Draw 50 series that features easy-to-follow lessons for rendering animals including cats, dogs, horses, prehistoric creatures, and more. With exercises taken from the animal drawing instruction titles in Lee J. Ames's beloved Draw 50 series, Draw 200 Animals brings you the best of Draw 50 Animals, Draw 50 Cats, Draw 50 Dogs, Draw 50 Horses, and Draw 50 Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals in a must-have collection of easy-to-follow, step-by-step visual lessons on sketching and rendering all kinds of furry, feathered, and finned critters. These classic lessons show you how to draw everything from pets to wild animals, including birds, insects, elephants, tigers, and more, in styles ranging from realistic to cartoony.