Do you want to add a little culture to your children’s lives?  I discovered a children’s author I just love, James Mayhew.  Many of his books revolve around a little girl, Katie, who visits museums with her grandmother.

The first Mayhew book I read to my son was Katie and the Dinosaurs.   The story is about a young girl who goes to a natural history museum with her grandmother.  Her grandmother becomes tired and sits down on a bench for a nap.  Katie explores the museum by herself and discovers a door that says, “Absolutely No Admittance Whatsoever”.  She steps through the door and she is in a dinosaur land and ahead of her is a complete dinosaur adventure.

Our second book we read by Mayhew was Katie and The Sunflowers.  This book, like many of his others, teaches children about famous artists and their artwork in an entertaining way.  This time, Katie is at an art museum and her grandmother sits down for another “rest” and Katie comes across the painting Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh.  She touches the flowers in the painting and they fall out onto the floor.  The flowers are then carried off by a little dog who had  jumped out of another painting.  The dog then jumps into van Gogh’s Cafe Terrace at Night with Katie following him.  The adventure continues in and out of paintings with Katie speaking to various people in each painting.

I was so intrigued with his work I did some research on him.  A Scholastic biography said the following:

James Mayhew was born in Stamford, England and graduated from the Maidstone College of Art in 1987, with first class honors. He is a prolific and renowned illustrator who hopes to peak young children’s interest in music and art. He is enthusiastic about his subjects and this passion is apparent in his work.

In 1994, he was awarded the New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year for, The Boy and the Cloth of Dreams.  Some other books he has illustrated and/or authored are: Katie and Mona Lisa, Katie Meets the Impressionists, and Katie’s Picture Show, and Who Wants a Dragon. The list goes on and on.  I believe these books would be appropriate for children 3 years to 8 years. You can find his books on Amazon .com along with their reviews .

Here’s another link to learn more about James Mayhew.