Arlo's ARTrageous Adventure! - by David LaRochelle

Arlo's ARTrageous Adeventure!

by David LaRochelle

Who says an art museum has to be a serious place? This ARTrageous adventure will have kids flipping out! Arlo's not thrilled when his grandmother says they're going to the museum WHETHER HE LIKES IT OR NOT. But when the paintings start coming hilariously to life, Arlo's in for a big surprise.

Lift 50 fabulous flaps to reveal hilarious surprises as you join Arlo on his tour of one very unusual art museum. David LaRochelle's playful illustrations reveal just how much fun art can be when you let your imagination run wild!

My Thoughts:

This book has quickly jumped to the top of my list for children's books! I was the child who dreaded the family trips to the museum. My parents and sister would wander for hours and I would find some hard bench to sit on and pout about not wanting to be there and it not being any fun. They would have in depth discussions about people and places that I had never heard of and wasn't interested in. I could not see beyond my own vision that museum were boring, torterous places. 

Then I went to college and took an art history class with a teacher that forever changed the way I looked at art. She told us interesting stories about the artists... things about scandal, romances, and deaths. She then looked at the art and pointed out things that a naked eye would never see. Things like the woman was painted to be ugly because she had been unfaithful to her husband. She made fun of paintings, she shared her love for certain styles, she opened my eyes to a world beyond what  you see on the canvas.

While much of what she taught me would not be appropriate to share with my 4 year old... this book is! This book is exactly what I need to get my daughter excited about museums. Arlo has the most incredible imagination - and so does my daughter. I just know she could look at paintings and see all the silly and fun things Arlo sees. And she adores lift the flap books - so she had a blast finding out what Arlo was imagining next. 

This is a fantastic book that has wonderful illustrations. I love that someone thought to create a children's book that understands kids feelings about museums and encourages them to be creative and find the fun in art!