The Ultimate Art Museum

Visit the world's greatest art museum without leaving home

This beautifully designed book transforms 40,000 years of art history into an interactive museum experience. Organised like a real museum with colour-coded wings, galleries, and rooms, it makes browsing art history as engaging as wandering through actual gallery spaces.

What makes this special is its museum-in-a-book format. Children follow floor plans and fold-out maps to navigate through different periods and styles, from prehistoric cave paintings to contemporary installations. Each "gallery" includes period overviews, geographic maps, and fascinating Art Detective boxes revealing surprising connections - like how video artist Pipilotti Rist inspired a Beyoncé music video.

The book features over 300 high-quality reproductions covering paintings, sculptures, textiles, and photography. Cross-referencing activities encourage children to spot connections between different artworks and periods, making art history feel like a treasure hunt rather than a textbook.

Created by art historian Ferren Gipson in collaboration with the team behind Phaidon's acclaimed "The Art Museum", this won starred reviews from Library Journal and praise from the New York Times for making art accessible without dumbing it down.

Suitable for ages 8-12, appeals to art lovers of all ages