Gr 6-9-This title explains the standards of painting prior to the rise of Impressionism and the historical and artistic events that led to its development. The evolution of the movement is well explained, and founding members of the group are portrayed in biographical sections. The further reading section includes print and nonprint media, with excellent Web sites. This title is suitable for reports, but the examples of major masterpieces are few and far between and are often poorly reproduced. There are any number of other resources that explain the movement better and include quality reproductions.-Lynne Mattern, Robert Seaman School, Jericho, NY Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

In its six books, this series provides, well-documented summaries of the world of art, also featuring Cubism, Romanticism, Sculpture, and The Artist's Tools. In Art Conservation, Marcovitz looks at how conservation has been both a science and an art for hundreds of years. The series' format works well for this topic as the combination of the main text-written like a lengthy and heavily footnoted magazine article-sidebars, photographs, and diagrams illustrate how conservation methods are continuously evolving. Brief but concrete examples throughout history help make the subject more real and relevant for the reader. Impressionism is one of three titles looking at artists' movements. Parks examines the factors leading up to the ground-breaking change in painting style, how the now-beloved Impressionist masters suffered criticism and ridicule throughout their careers, and how they laid groundwork for innovations to follow. This title is as well-researched and documented as the others, and the supplemental information fleshes out this period in art history. The addition of photographs of every work mentioned would have been helpful, however, especially for youth who might not have enough background to fill in the blanks. The books focus exclusively on Western art history, so there is little diversity in the artists and movements profiled. School and public libraries looking for a way to introduce young people to that limited view of the art world, however, will find a fine beginning in this series.-Vikki Terrile.