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

Like many parents, Wenda O'Reilly loved visiting museums and introducing her children to great works of art. And like many kids, Wenda's three young daughters did not always share her enthusiasm. After 20 minutes in a museum they were likely to say, "We're tired." When the family embarked on a five-month journey around Europe in a VW van, Wenda O'Reilly, who has a doctorate in education from Stanford, decided to make a game of their visits to the great museums. Together, she and her children began to design The Renaissance Art Game, a card game of "Go Fish" and "Concentration" featuring great works of art by Michelangelo, Leonardo, Botticelli and others. Husband James called the girls, who were learning as they traveled, "road scholars."

After they returned to California, the game continued as a kitchen table project. Family members learned about artists and the times they lived in and decided which works of art to put on the playing cards. Wenda wrote a companion art book and her daughters and a young friend did the editing, making sure every paragraph was fun and fascinating for children. In 2000, after five years of work, the O'Reillys decided to publish their first game.

The Renaissance Art Game found fans in both kids and adults and began selling in the great museums of the world, including the Louvre where the O'Reillys' project first began. The family has since published two more art games: The Impressionist Art Game and Van Gogh & Friends Art Game. All three games have won the prestigious Parents' Choice Gold Medal and numerous other awards. The games have been acclaimed by educators as among the most effective educational games on the market.

The series of three art games, each with a full-color art book, features over 100 artists from Leonardo da Vinci to Toulouse-Lautrec and includes fascinating facts such as:

• How Renaissance artists made paint from beetles, burnt bones and precious jewels
• Why Michelangelo painted the devil to look like a high Vatican official
• How the Impressionists got their name from a critic who hated their paintings
• What it was like to be a woman artist in the 1800's
• How the invention of photography influenced art
• Why Van Gogh cut off part of his ear

Just as the Impressionists sought to "ensnare the light and throw it directly on the canvas," this beautiful series of art games throws light on some of the greatest artists in history. In the words of Mariele O'Reilly, co-developer of the games, "You think you're just having fun playing cards and the next thing you know you're an art expert!"

---

---

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.

---

Title Information

For ages 7 and up Suggested retail price $27.95
The Renaissance Art Game ISBN: 1-889613-02-9	The Impressionist Art Game ISBN: 1-889613-06-1	Van Gogh & Friends Art Game ISBN: 1-889613-09-6

For sale at...

Independent bookstores throughout the United States and Canada, and at bookstore chains such as Barnes & Noble, Borders and Chapters/Indigo.

Online at Amazon.com, bn.com, and at our website www.BirdCagePress.com.

Museum gift stores, including The Metropolitan, National Gallery, Getty and Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Fine Art Boston, Louvre, and many more.