• Age: 4 to 7
• Grade: p to 2

Art is for everyone—even a bored little girl.

Going to the Art Museum with her mom is no fun at all for Anna. Everything is old and boring and there are so many rules: Don’t Touch! Do Not Enter! Quiet! A vigilant guard keeps a close eye on the energetic little girl, but even so, Anna manages to set off an alarm and almost tip over a vase.

A half-open door draws Anna’s attention, but the No Entry sign means yet again that it’s off-limits. This time, however, the guard surprises her by inviting her to go in. Here she finds a “secret workshop” where paintings are being cleaned and repaired. Staring out from one of the canvases is a girl who looks grumpy and bored—just like Anna herself. With the realization that art often imitates life, Anna discovers the sheer joy to be had from the paintings on the wall, especially those that reflect what is happening all around her.

Filled with representations of paintings from many world-class galleries, this charming book is the perfect prelude to a child’s first visit to an art museum.

Hazel Hutckins est l'auteure de plus de 30 livres pour enfants, y compris l'album illustré primé Mattland, une œuvre qui est aussi illustrée par Duan Petricic. Hazel vit à Canmore, en Alberta.

After many years of juggling writing, raising her children, and making a home with her now deceased husband, Hazel spends her days writing full time. Winner of Writer's Guild of Alberta Award for Children's Literature, she has written children's short fiction for Chirp, Chickadee, and Cricket.
When answering where the inspiration for A Second is a Hiccup came from, Hazel comments, "I decided to see if I could find other ways to describe time. When the writing began to flow in poetic form - and when I came up with the engaging title line A Second is a Hiccup - I knew I had begun a labor of love. The book went through many incarnations....in one version I actually brought in centuries and eons! Good grief! But it finally returned to exactly what it should be...immediate, simple and close-to-home. It is my sincere hope that children of all types will enjoy finding and celebrating, among the pages, the many ways they spend their time."

Hazel Hutchins' profile page

Gail Herbert’s first collaboration with Hazel Hutchins produced the award-winning picture book, Mattland. Gail lives with her husband near Cambridge, Ontario.

Gail Herbert's profile page

Artist Lil Crump brings the pages to life with her lively cartoons, while photographs illustrate key concepts. The dynamic layout invites even math-phobic readers to dive in. She lives in Canada.

Lil Crump's profile page

• Joint winner, Best Bets List, Top Ten, Ontario Library Association
• Joint winner, Foreword INDIES Book Awards
• Short-listed, The da Vinci Eye, Eric Hoffer Book Awards

“Each page is filled with motion and emotion, as well as with Crump’s impressive recreations of numerous great works of art.” —Atlantic Books Today, Winter/18

Atlantic Books Today

“Lil Crump’s illustrations are a delight. Each scene is filled with visual jokes that reward careful attention.” —The Booklist Reader, 01/23/19

The Booklist Reader

“So charming and so real . . . a worthwhile addition to home, classroom and school libraries.” —CanLit for Little Canadians, 09/05/18

Canlit for Little Canadians

“Connection is at the heart of this story and those connections are shown with joy and understanding.” —Sal’s Fiction Addiction, 11/18/18

Sal’s Fiction Addiction

“Lively and expressive, the digital pictures complement the empathetic, well-structured story, but it’s the visual interplay between illustrated characters and museum art that makes this such an engaging, enjoyable picture book.” —Booklist, 09/01/18

Booklist

“Clever and endearing.” —Kirkus Reviews, *starred review, 05/23/18

Kirkus Reviews

“Art truly is for everybody in this charming book . . . The attention to detail is sublime as Crump’s gorgeous characters and scenery work to mirror the featured pieces on the wall that span centuries and cross oceans . . . Anna at the Art Museum would be a great book to read before visiting a museum, to prepare children and manage expectations, but truly it is a good book to read any time.” —CM reviews, *starred review, 12/21/18

CM reviews

“The subtle and clever illustrations blend Anna’s life and famous works of art together, mirroring each other—something that children and adults will appreciate as they read.” —I Heart Literacy, 08/28/18

I Heart Literacy