| For Immediate Release Contact: | |
| Maureen Kravitz, Public Relations BirdCage Press (650) 424-1701 Maureen@BirdCagePress.com |
Wenda O'Reilly, Author BirdCage Press (650) 424-1702 Wenda@BirdCagePress.com |
"The best combination of learning and having fun I've ever seen in an art game. It brings great artists alive in a whole new way."
– Myra Strober, Professor of Education, Stanford University
Imagine your nine-year old exclaiming, "Wow! Look at that, Mom. It's a Michelangelo!" Or saying, "Daddy, did you know Leonardo da Vinci was a vegetarian?" Impossible, you say? Not with the new Renaissance Art Game. Using two of children's favorite card games, The Renaissance Art Game makes learning about some of the world's greatest art fun for the entire family.
Developed by a Ph.D. in education, The Renaissance Art Game is being hailed by experts as the most effective educational art game on the market. The game includes a deck of 30 museum-quality playing cards and a full-color 80-page art book, packaged in a beautiful Renaissance treasure box. Children play "Go Fish" and "Concentration" style card games with the art cards. Each artist's group of cards is color-coded so beginners and younger children can enjoy playing with their parents and older siblings…and even winning! As players become more familiar with the works of art, they play directly from their new-found knowledge.
Each card in the deck has a two-page spread in the companion book where players learn the answers to such questions as:
They also learn about art technique:
Educator Wenda O'Reilly developed the game when she realized her children spent many hours playing cards but lasted only 20 minutes in art museums before saying, "Mommy, can we go now?" O'Reilly wrote it with the help of her three young daughters and a teenage friend. The four young editors, aged 9 – 14 graded each story. Only what they found most interesting and easy to understand made it into the book, making The Renaissance Art Game truly "kid-tested." Ten-year old editor Mariele O'Reilly put it this way: "You think you're just having fun and the next thing you know you're a Renaissance expert!"
"The best art game I've ever encountered in my 35 years of working with young people and art...a perfect way to get kids, and yourself excited about a glorious period in history."
- Judith Jenya, Director, Global Children's Organization
Wenda O'Reilly, Ph.D. holds a master's degree from Harvard University and a doctorate in education from Stanford University. She and her husband, James, publisher of the award-winning Travelers' Tales books, have traveled widely with their three daughters, educating them wherever they go. As a family, they are always looking for ways to combine learning and having fun.
BirdCage Press is a small, independent publisher based in Palo Alto, California, dedicated to the creation of thoughtful and accessible books and games.
The Renaissance Art Game
October 2000
Ages 7 and up
Suggested retail: $25 ($38.95 Canada)
ISBN: 1-889613-02-9
7 5/8" x 10" art box with 30 playing cards and an 80-page, full-color book.
Distributed by Publishers Group West · Tel: (800) 788-3123
Also available through Bookmasters · Tel: (800) 247-6553
For sale at book, toy and museum stores everywhere, and at our website, www.BirdCagePress.com