My aunt wrote this book and it was given to me when my daughter's were still young enough to shut up and listen to everything I read them: I must admit though that while the pictures are lovely and the words thought provoking and accessible, I think I got a lot more out of Prayer in Art than my children did. ( )

Classic works of art that speak to children. Of particular interest to homeschoolers is the painting The Young Schoolmistress, where Sister Wendy notes, "Perhaps she is his big sister and he is being taught on his own at home. It is not only in the classroom, or from qualified teachers, that we learn about the world."

Linking the work of 15 different artists, from Michelangelo to Millet, to a spiritual value such as respect or forgiveness, Sister Wendy Beckett introduces children to art as a means of discovering faith. She contends that "looking at art is one way of listening to God," and her text reveals that neither looking at art nor listening to God is a passive activity. She even suggests that adults not "sincerely trying to live in love and truth" themselves refrain from discussing the ideas presented with children, who "learn more from what we are than from what we say." Each oversize, double-page spread presents a large painting, two enlarged details, and brief description and commentary, with a lovely, simple prayer appearing midpage in big, red type. The commentary is insightful and wise. Beckett's evaluation of Millet's Seated Shepherdess, for example, communicates the shepherd girl's poverty and isolation as well as her apparent contentedness while it emphasizes the need for quiet times to think and to make choices that matter. "Nobody can tell us how to live," Beckett writes. "We all have to work out the wisest way for ourselves. God waits to help us . . . ." With appeal to older as well as middle readers, this is a remarkable book, not only for its innate spirituality and wisdom, but also for its harmonious partnership of great art and astute interpretation. Shelley Townsend-Hudson (Amazon.com)