Top 10 Arty Children’s Books

Perhaps you’re hoping that your bambino will turn out to be the next Tracey Emin. Or maybe (if you really want to be kept in comfort in your old age) a future Charles Saatchi. Whatever your aspiration, there’s a glut of art-based books on the market to set your little one off on the right track. We’ve picked our favourites.

Start out with Art for Baby– a classic board book featuring black and white pictures (and a free frieze) by renowned contemporary artists, such as Gary Hume, Damien Hirst and Bridget Riley. The contrast images claim to transfix and soothe fractious babies and, as if that weren’t enough reason to buy one immediately, £1.50 from each sale goes to the NSPCC. £9.89 including p&p from Amazon.

Other board books to try are Counting with Wayne Thiebaud, which features the American artist’s famous paintings of cakes, hot dogs and lollipops (£3.99 from Ikon Gallery) and Andy Warhol’s Colors which… well, you can imagine (3.43 from Aphrohead), both by Susan Rubin.

As an introduction to famous names, I’d recommend Nina Laden’s When Pigasso Met Mootisse (Amazon), a comical look at a dispute between two very different artists. Julie Merberg’s boxed set of Mini Masters explores Degas, Matisse, Monet and Van Gogh and makes a great gift at £10.79 from Amazon, while Katie and the British Artists by James Mayhew (£8.99 from Amazon) focuses on Turner, Gainsborough, Constable and Stubbs. Illustrator Quentin Blake’s Tell Me A Picture is an alphabetical romp through art history, with each work revealing a story, portrayed in Blake’s inim itable way – £10.99 from the National Gallery.