A Slam Dunk

Shooting hoops wasn’t Patrick Ewing’s first love; as a little boy in Jamaica, the New York Knicks superstar drew and painted and dreamed of being an artist. It wasn’t until he was 11 and had moved to Massachusetts with his family that basketball entered his life. He pursued both passions. In 1985, when Ewing joined the Knicks, he had a fine arts degree from Georgetown University.

Ewing shares his love for art-making in an irresistibly heartfelt, horizon-expanding book for children ages 7 to 10 called “In the Paint,” published by Abbeville Press.

“Basketball is the side of me that everyone knows, but art is just as important to me,” Ewing writes. “It’s part of what makes me who I am.”

This beautifully designed book, written with art educator Linda L. Louis, is filled with intriguing how-to’s about materials, techniques, using and mixing colors, layering paint, using water. It also offers terrific ideas to help children think of their daily lives and experiences as inspiration for making art.

The book ends with Louis’ tips for parents and teachers. By the way, the book’s title describes where Ewing likes to be on and off the court: In basketball, it’s in the painted part of the court floor near the basket.

“I make my hardest decisions and most exciting moves when I am there--in the paint.”

* “In the Paint,” Patrick Ewing, Linda L. Louis, Abbeville Press, hardcover, $16. (800) ART-BOOK.

“How Artists See Cities” and “How Artists See Play” have a similar aim: to interest children (ages 6 to 10) in art and promote creative thinking and expression. Written by art educator Colleen Carroll, the books feature works by Edward Hopper, Chagall, Red Grooms, Jacob Lawrence, Picasso, Ando Hiroshige and other artists. Imagination-stirring text accompanies each painting as Carroll describes content, composition, line, technique and mood, and asks interesting and playful questions to spark children’s creative responses.

In “How Artists See Play,” for example, Mary Cassatt’s “Children Playing on the Beach” is an invitation to children to imagine themselves there with their own pails and shovels. For an ancient Egyptian painting of “Nofretari Playing Draughts,” Carroll asks readers to trace the lines of the queen’s gauzy white dress and “experience the course of the artist’s brush.”

In “How Artists See Cities,” children can look at Hopper’s “Early Sunday Morning” and pretend they’re walking down the sunlit, empty street and describe how they think it would feel; they can see how many colors and shadows they can find.

Hiroshige’s “Moonlit Street Scene in Edo” prompts an exploration of light, and Chagall’s “Paris Through the Window” inspires a search for shapes and surprising colors.

Carroll has included helpful notes to parents and teachers, as well as artists’ biographies, galleries and museums where each artist’s work is found, and suggestions for further reading.

The “How Artists See” series also includes books on these themes: “Animals,” “The Weather,” “People,” “The Elements,” “Families” and “Work.” Forthcoming books will focus on “Feelings” and “Artists.”

* “How Artists See Cities,” “How Artists See Play,” Colleen Carroll, Abbeville Press, $11 each. (800) ART-BOOK.

The nifty “Let’s Start!” art series for ages 5 to 9 takes a solely activity-based approach, supplying not only illustrated, spiral-bound instruction books hosted by colorful cartoon critters, but also the art supplies and paper.

“Let’s Start! Modeling With Clay,” for instance, includes instructions for making 15 animals, supplies the clay, a play mat, game mat, sculpting tool and clay molds. There are “Sand Art,” “Drawing,” “Stamp Art,” “Painting” and “Collage” activity sets in this just-for-fun series, too.

* “Let’s Start! Collage,” “Drawing,” “Modeling With Clay,” “Painting,” “Sand Art,” “Stamp Art,” Silver Dolphin Books, hardcover, $13 each. (800) 284-3580.

Hanukkah Music Addendum: The Web site address for Hatikvah Music International was missing from last week’s review of Hanukkah music. It is https://www.hatikvahmusic.com.