Art Masters series receives high praises for "stunning" visual appeal

Review of Art Masters from The Free Library:

'Art Masters' is a superbly illustrated six volume series showcasing some of the best-known and most popular artists in the history of Western Art.

Originally published in Italy, this new edition from The Oliver Press features a text that has been newly re-translated from the Italian, enhanced with glossaries and web sites, as well as time lines, art gallery listings, and full-color art reproductions and illustrations. 'Art Masters' is a superb series that is ideal for young readers ages 12 and older.

The individual titles comprising this simply outstanding series include: Lucia Corrain's The Art of the Renaissance (9781934545041, $24.95); Francesco Salvi's The Impressionists (9781934545034, $24.95); Francesca Romei's Leonardo Da Vinci (9781934545003, $24.95); Gabriella Di Cagno's Michelangelo (9781934545010, $24.95); Claudio Pescio's Rembrandt (9781934545027, $24.95); and Enrica Crispino's Van Gogh (9781934545058, $24.95).

A superbly produced series that is as informative as it is visually stunning, 'Art Masters' is enthusiastically recommended for family, school, and community library reference collections for young (and not so young!) readers.

For a link to the original review on The Free Library website, click here.

Oliver Press books reviewed in Booklist Magazine

Here is a wonderful review of a selection of books from our Looking at Europe series that we wanted to share with you. This review was originally published in Booklist Magazine, a publication of the American Library Association:

"While many geography series target elementary school children, these large-format volumes from the Looking at Europe series will best suit older students with good vocabularies and some knowledge of European history. First published in the Netherlands, these translated books are clearly written and well organized. Each includes chapters on the country today, its history, cities, transportation, culture, education, economy, cuisine, tourism, and natural environment. Page layouts include many clear, color photos as well as colorful sidebars. Bulgaria opens with comments on Bulgarian as a Slavic language and a brief, helpful guide to pronunciation. Hungary concludes with a chapter on the Hungarian Republic, from the 1989 fall of the communist regime to 2007, when it joined the European Union. Poland includes profiles of Pope John Paul II and Solidarity movement leader Lech Wałęsa. Romania traces the country’s troubled history from medieval times to the present and comments on changes since the government began moving toward a market economy in 1990. Each book offers two large, clearly drawn maps: in the front endpapers, a map of the country and, in the back, another highlighting the country within a map of Europe. Brief glossaries and lists of websites are appended. Four attractive, informative introductions to Eastern European countries."

--Carolyn Phelan, Booklist Magazine


Books from the Looking at Europe series mentioned in this review:

Looking at Bulgaria
By Bronja Prazdny. Tr. by Louisa Spenceley.
2011. 48p. illus. Oliver, lib. ed., $24.95 (9781881508854). Gr. 7–9. 949.9.

Looking at Hungary
By Stephan Lang. Tr. by Wilma Hoving.
2011. 48p. illus. Oliver, lib. ed., $24.95 (9781881508885). Gr. 7–9. 943.9.

Looking at Poland
By Jan Kadziolka and Tadeusz Wojciechowski. Tr. by Jeske Nelissen.
2011. 48p. illus. Oliver, lib. ed., $24.95 (9781881508892). Gr. 7–9. 943.8.

Looking at Romania
By Jan Willem Bos. Tr. by Shannon Davidson.
2011. 48p. illus. Oliver, lib. ed., $24.95 (9781881508861). Gr. 7–9. 949.8.

The Oliver Press announces four titles on "new" European countries

The Iron Curtain has long been demolished; that's history. But, it's not the end of the story. What we have today are a collection of distinctive Eastern European countries that have risen out of the communist rubble, each with a rich heritage and new membership in the European Union.

With Looking at Europe, The Oliver Press is proud to publish four more books that examine both what's old and what's new about these countries. Rich, full-color photographs bring to life the following topics in each volume: History; Geography; Towns & Cities; People & Culture; Education; Cuisine; Transportation; Economy; Tourism; and Nature.

Booklist proclaims the Looking at Europe series to be "clearly written and well organized," both qualities that make these excellent books for student reports. Written for grades 5 and up, students can dig deep into the culture of each of the 10 countries featured in the Looking at Europe series. Each full-color book contains maps, charts, photographs, sidebars and stories that capture the essence of the country's culture, history and present-day life.

The four new volumes, available in June 2011, are Looking at:

Bulgaria

Hungary

Poland

Romania

For more reading on the "new" countries of Eastern Europe, check out The Oliver Press' previously published titles in the Looking at Europe series:

The Czech Republic

Estonia

Latvia

Lithuania

Slovakia

Slovenia