There Are No Animals in This Book Only Feelings

Masterworks of contemporary art teach kids about feelings and how they can be expressed in art.

The bold work of contemporary artists, including Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, and Alex Katz is totally accessible to small children, and in this gorgeous, ground-breaking picture book, these works of art speak to children about emotions.

Children will recognize love, surprise, hurt, and other powerful feelings in these images, which accompany a fun-to-read aloud narrative with a silly twist at the end that is sure to delight younger readers.

Parents can enjoy the art as well as the opportunity to engage their children in a light-hearted discussion of feelings and how they affect us—the beginnings of emotional intelligence.

Chani Sanchez is the founder of the Museum of Amazing Art, which curates contemporary art and culture for children and their families. After the birth of her daughter Nika, and following a career of buying and archiving a prestigious collection of privately owned art, Chani began using fine art to create educational experiences for children. The goal is to help children explore their internal worlds through art, while inviting parents to tune in as well. Chani believes that when children develop a language for their feelings and emotions, they form vital brain connections that result in a plethora of good, including habituated states of well-being; the ability to connect meaningfully with others; and even the optimization of intellectual potential. Her mission is to use art as a doorway to encourage children to delve deeper into their own internal lives, and to educate parents to connect with and support this process. Chani is a native New Yorker, currently living in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with Nika and their small dog, Butter. Visit her at www.chanisanchez.com.

Tina Rivers graduated from Harvard University and is completing her doctorate in art history at Columbia University, where she specializes in modern and contemporary art and visual culture. She has taught courses on contemporary art at Columbia University, the Pratt Institute, and the Museum of Modern Art, and also regularly lectures on art to public audiences.