From the Art Profiles for Kids series, this book introduces the life and work of Renoir. Though the book is relatively short, the text is smoothly written, and quotes from the artist convey a sense of his personality. The glossy pages allow for good reproductions of paintings as well as a few photos; however, most of the illustrations are small. Back matter includes a glossary, chronology, chapter notes for quotes, lists of books and Internet sites, and a Timeline in History, which places a single episode in Renoir's life, his 1872 painting of Impression: Sunrise, among 28 oddly assorted events, such as Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo (1815), the opening of the first U.S. medical college for women (1850), and the founding of the NAACP (1909). Though other books on library shelves are better choices for looking at reproductions of Renoir's paintings, this one offers a concise, readable account of the artist's life.

Gr 4-7-Dialogue and quotes (all sourced in the back matter) and the stories that usher readers into the lives of these artists inject some life into otherwise dry texts. Michelangelo's mother, pregnant with him, fell off her horse en route to Caprese, his birthplace. Renoir's The Bathers sold at Sotheby's for almost $3.5 million in 1998, while in the 1870s, Claude Monet and other Impressionist painters were unable to get their work exhibited or accepted by the critics. The author Emile Zola created a fictionalized character based on Paul Cizanne, depicted as a "sullen artist wracked by torturous self-doubt." Accounts of the artists' difficult childhoods, families, initial poverty and struggle for acceptance, and eventual fame are interspersed with one-page sections, printed on colored ground, called "For Your Information." These explain terms such as "Impressionism," describe famous places such as the Louvre and St. Peter's Basilica, and help readers place the artist in context by providing information on other artists of the time, famous leaders like Girolamo Savonarola, the Medicis, and Napolion III, and both the Franco-Prussian and First World Wars. Unfortunately, the reproductions are small and only of fair quality, and some of them appear several pages from their discussion in the text. These titles are serviceable for reports, but readers deserve to see better reproductions of these great works of art.-Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.