Rembrandt is not the most accessible artist for children. At first glance his pictures seem sober and dark, but any child who does make the leap finds a tremendous warmth and colour in his work.

The latest in the See and Do Children’s Book series is designed to help children make that leap into a world which is rich in colour and texture and fascinating images.

Each beautifully designed page is fresh and engaging, drawing readers into Rembrandt’s world - the story of his life, the tales behind his pictures. We are introduced to Rembrandt the magician who could evoke the profound in everyday scenes - as in his etching of “The Pancake Woman” - and who could express humanity in the epic of Greek myth or biblical tale.

The magic is in Rembrandt’s brushstrokes - not the optical fizz of Impressionism, which more children will be familiar with - but paint transformed into solid form.

The book is full of exciting and effective activities, ideal teaching aids, such as exploring Rembrandt’s use of chiaroscuro by painting a scene lit by dramatic torch or lamplight in a darkened room. Picasso took great delight in reworking some of Rembrandt’s images and ideas in his own style and the book might have included some of these, showing how it is possible to draw ideas from Rembrandt without having to paint like him. The book is designed for nine to 12-year-olds but could be enlightening for older students.

Josef Herman, who died last year, was an asylum seeker, a Polish artist who escaped Nazi persecution and discovered artistic fulfilment in the life and landscape of South Wales, with its hills, valleys and miners. His powerfully evocative pictures and the immediacy of his images have a quality which children can identify with and feel empowered by.

Pupils who have worked from the pictures of Herman never feel that they cannot draw.

The Josef Herman artpack would be an invaluable resource in the primary and secondary classroom. It includes a copy of Carolyn Davies’s book Josef Herman in Wales, a simply written but evocative and lyrical account of his life and art; a 16-page teacher’s booklet with photocopiable activity sheets; four full-colour laminated art cards of paintings for close study or display; an insightful article about Herman by Ozi Rhys Osmond which first appeared in The New Welsh Review.

Herman found revelation in the everyday world around him, simplifying landscape and people into expressive, colourful and monumental shapes.

Children gain much from being involved in his art and can also explore the topical issue of the place of the dispossessed in society.

EW