The student book includes the following units: Appearances: Looking at Our World, Sharing Stories: Art and Communication, Presenting Places: The Human Landscape, Nature's Gifts: Making Choices, Traditions: Our Artistic Heritage and Imagination: Invention and Abstraction. Each unit theme is organized into three teaching and learning strands that explore specific aspects of the unit theme. Every strand includes two concept lessons, each with a studio and an extended studio exploration. The student book also provides appealing fine art images, art criticism based on fine artwork and student artwork, technique illustrations, artist biographies, maps and a student handbook with safety information and clear examples of art elements and design principles. Included are a table of contents, a glossary and an index.

In an appealing format for students, this resource provides numerous songs, listening selections in a variety of styles, instrumental parts and suggestions for activities. The book is divided into four sections: Spotlight on Concepts, Spotlight on Music Reading, Spotlight on Performance and Spotlight on Celebrations. It features the Broadway junior mini-musical entitled Annie Junior. Spotlight on Music 4 includes a table of contents; a basic instruction chart for playing the recorder; an illustrated glossary of instruments; a glossary of terms; classified indices of choral songs; holiday, seasonal and patriotic songs (American); folk and traditional songs and the Broadway mini-musical songs; and additional indices of all literature, listening selections, songs and speech pieces included in the book.

This picture book depicts Josef Albers as he spends 27 years studying colour as carefully as a scientist and creating images of squares with various colour combinations. Currently, these squares, part of a series called Homage to the Square, are on display in art galleries around the world. Albers also wrote a book entitled Interaction of Color that changed the way the world looks at colour and the way that teachers teach art. An Eye for Color includes a glossary, a short biography of Albers' life, a brief bibliography and a few suggested colour-related activities. The illustrations are, of course, colourful.

With shaded, detail-filled illustrations and poetic text, this tribute to John Coltrane focuses on John as a young child who is fully aware of the sounds and rhythms in his environment. John often closes his eyes and absorbs sounds such as birds warbling at sunrise, a saxophone's soulful solo, steam engines whistling past and Daddy strumming his ukulele. This picture book could pique students' interest in a discussion about what shapes a musician. Before John Was a Jazz Giant includes a short biography of Coltrane's life, a selected list of his music and a short list of books for further reading about him.

With haunting poetic text and lush oil illustrations, this picture book offers a glimpse into the life of the world's most acclaimed jazz guitarist, Django Reinhardt. The book shows how, before fulfilling his dreams, Django overcomes huge obstacles such as experiencing extreme poverty in a Roma encampment, being deserted by his father and incurring serious burns from a wagon fire. Django: World's Greatest Jazz Guitarist includes additional notes on Django's life and the Roma, a brief bibliography of books on Django and a selected discography of his music.

This picture book explains that until 1,000 years ago, there was no written music at all. If people wanted to learn songs, they had to memorize them. Fortunately, Guido d'Arezzo from Tuscany created a system of musical notation that changed music forever. With detailed collage illustrations, Do Re Mi depicts D'Arezzo's persistence, his struggles with those resisting change and his support from a Benedictine monk as he develops an ingenious system of musical notation that is still used worldwide. The book includes a glossary of music terms and a bibliography of books on related topics.

This book relates Ella Fitzgerald's story through the voice of a charming feline fan named Scat Cat Munroe whose narrative rings with the rhythm of scat. The book is divided into four sections: Hoofin' in Harlem, Jammin' at Yale, Stompin' at the Savoy and Carnegie Hall Scat.
Brian Pinkney's whimsical illustrations dance across the pages in an appealing jazzy style of their own. The book includes a short biography of Fitzgerald, a brief bibliography, a selected discography and a brief videography.

In this wordless picture book, a young boy develops the film from a boxy barnacle-encrusted underwater camera that he found on the beach. When he reveals the photographs, readers are taken on a fantastical undersea excursion where they view an octopus holding story hour in a living room, miniature green aliens exploring the environment, a windup fish and more. There are also portraits of children from various countries and time periods, each child holding a photograph taken by another child. Eventually, the boy adds his self-portrait to the others and he tosses the camera into the waves where it washes up as flotsam for someone else to enjoy. The intricate watercolour illustrations take readers on a refreshing escape from real life.
This book could provide an invitation for students to create imaginative visual stories without words.

Celenza's story is a delightful introduction to Joseph Haydn, his Farewell Symphony and 18th century life. Joseph Haydn served as personal composer for Prince Nicholas of Esterhazy for nearly 30 years. He composed music as requested by the prince, was responsible for the care of all instruments and served as spokesperson for the members of the orchestra. Summers were spent at the prince's summer estate in Hungary and one summer as autumn approached, the musicians were growing increasingly homesick. Prince Nicholas refused to return home and he also refused Haydn's request to have the musicians' families visit. Haydn decided to appeal to the prince through his Symphony in F-Sharp Major, which reflects the musician's anger, sadness and frustration. When Prince Nicholas heard the symphony, he was so moved that he decided to return home. The striking watercolour-and-ink cartoons with simple lines and exaggerated characterizations convey a sense of the excess and finery of the period. There are notes on both 18th century form and instruments, as well as on the events and personalities in the story.

This picture book focuses on the life story of renowned New York choreographer José Limón. Born in Mexico in 1908, José was a boy who loved to draw, but he also had a song in his heart and a dance in his step. As a young man, he moved to New York and was determined to become a visual artist. Finally, he found that dance was his true passion and became a world-famous choreographer who toured the globe with his own dance company. Every second page is filled with realistic-style artwork rendered in watercolour and pencil crayon. The book includes a historical note and a bibliography.

Based on a true story, this colourfully illustrated book tells how Henri Matisse and his friend Monique, a nursing nun, turn Monique's dream of having a hospital chapel into a reality. Matisse wants the chapel to be a house of colour and in spite of the old nuns' objections, he achieves his goal. Matisse installs 17 beautifully coloured stained glass windows that transform the dreary chapel into a house of colour. The exquisite Chappelle du Rosaire outside Vence, France still stands today. The book includes a section of biographical information on Matisse and Monique Bourgeois.

Inspired by the life and artwork of African-American collage artist Romare Bearden, this work of fiction tells of a young boy's memorable summer visit with his uncle Romie in the Harlem neighbourhood of New York City. When the young boy returns home to North Carolina, he captures memories of his uncle and his New York experiences in a beautiful collage that he gives to Romie for his birthday. The book includes a short section on making collage and a brief biography of Romare Bearden. On every page is an attractive collage and acrylic illustration.

Piano Starts Here is a storyography of Art Tatum as he becomes one of the world's greatest jazz pianists, despite his very weak eyesight. Illustrated with impressionist-style watercolours, the story, told in the first person, begins when Tatum can barely reach the keyboard on tiptoe, continues through his teenage years when he is paid to play in bars and on the radio and goes into his young adulthood when he has already become famous. There is also a section that provides additional information on Art Tatum and the author's personal experience with him and a bibliography of books for further reading about Tatum.

Based on a true story, Picasso and the Girl with a Ponytail is about a shy young girl named Sylvette David who gradually gains self-confidence and becomes a well-known artist after modelling for Picasso in the French town of Vallauris. Eventually, Picasso created more than 40 images of "The Girl with a Ponytail," who became an international icon. Interspersed among the colourful, cartoon-style illustrations are numerous images of Picasso's works of art. There is also a short section that provides more information on Picasso and David.

This storyography begins when Alexander Calder (alias Sandy) is a young boy who is always creating toys and jewellery from scraps for his friends and family. Later, Sandy goes to college where he studies to be an engineer and an artist. One day, Sandy makes a little wire lion, then a cage for the lion, then a tamer, then high wire walkers and so on until he has created an entire magical, moveable circus. Sandy travels all over the country and performs with his life-like big-top circus show, which is now on display at the Whitney Museum in New York City. Jovial illustrations bring the easy-to-read text to life. The book includes an author's note about Calder and a bibliography of print resources.

Filled with jazzy syllables such as plink-a-plink, yimba-timba, and zang-zang, this book is about a jazz pianist who is forced to leave his band because he is losing his hearing. The pianist, however, meets a deaf saxophone player in a sign language class and they form an amazing new band for deaf musicians that performs snazzy style. Comical muted illustrations effectively depict the varying moods that the characters in the story experience.
Teachers could use this book to introduce real-life musicians who are deaf, such as world-renowned percussionist Evelyn Glennie.

The evolution of the modern symphony orchestra and the instruments that comprise it are presented in this fact-filled excursion through music history. The various eras in the development of the modern orchestra, starting with the instrumental groups at the dawn of the 17th century and continuing on up to the present day are described. An informative narrative occupies at least one side of each double-page spread. Watercolour and line drawings fill the pages, providing an up-close look at a variety of musical instruments and methods of sound production. This is a shining tool for teachers to share with children who want to know more about the modern symphony orchestra and the musicians' instruments.