My First Book of Real Animals and Beautiful Graffiti: My First Book of Art

Welcome to My First Book of Real Animals and Beautiful Graffiti, a collection of 151 photographs of European animals and of graffiti. This one is a book for children from ages 1 to 7 years old more or less. The book is accompanied with comments intended to make children and parents discover a wide variety of animals, both domestic and wild. What kind of animals can you expect to see here?. Connemara ponies, donkeys, goats, sheep, cats, dogs, caterpillars, bees, beetles, cows, rabbits, magpies, crows, geese, lizards, snails, sea animals and then fantasy animals in the graffiti pictures. Some pictures are quirky but neither offensive nor crude. The book is both arty and entertaining, designed to be contemplated and read by parents or adults to children and intended to make them reflect on the images presented. I have tried to depict the animals in an artistic way, sometimes trying to emulate the famous cat photographer Walter Chandoha. This is why the book can be a first initiation to art. Most images are happy ones with some sad moments. However, there is not a single photography of real cadavers. Generally speaking, almost all animals here seem to enjoy life. The images are also a good departure point for shared reflections on the nature of animals, freedom, life and death, and environmental issues. There is a comment under each image to be read aloud, if the adult or the kid wants so. The graffiti have been painted in different countries: Ireland, Germany, France, Belgium, Portugal, and Poland, countries where I have lived. I have improved the graffiti images by way of colouring them better, as some were already in poor condition and some of them may have disappeared by now. I am grateful both to the animals here depicted for their patience and to the wonderful artists that have painted the graffiti. I hope that you will enjoy the contemplation of these images in the company of children. The author.