Education

The best arts education books of the year

Kacy Andrews and Jack Messitt read a book before nap time to their 3-year-old son Sawyer in their Glendale home.
Maya Sugarman/KPCC

Mary Plummer | December 27, 2013

Now that the gift-buying season is behind us, it's time to pick up a good read. For those interested in education, 2013 was filled with books from big names like Reign of Error from former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch and The School Revolution by Texas congressman Ron Paul.

For something more on the creative side, here's a list of arts education standouts.

Drama High by Michael Sokolove. Sokolove, a contributing writer for The New York Times, released his fourth book this year. It profiles a high school theater and drama coach at a Pennsylvania high school who transformed his students through arts education.
Raising Musical Kids by Rob Cutietta. Cutietta released the second edition of his popular parent guide earlier this month, updated with tips on how to help your kids learn music in the digital age. Cutietta is Dean of the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California.
Make Good Art by Neil Gaiman. This book features fantasy author Gaiman's inspiring commencement speech at Philadelphia’s University of the Arts on living a creative life. You can watch a video of the speech online.
The Artful Parent by Jean Van't Hul. The popular blogger turned her web presence into a book. It's filled with more than 60 art projects for kids aged 1 to 8.
Real Talk for Real Teachers by Rafe Esquith. An L.A. Unified elementary teacher well-known for his Shakespeare program, Esquith released his latest book over the summer. The teachers' guide is full of tips on how to survive a tough field and inspire students. KPCC did a story on Esquith for KPCC and interviewed him for a Crawford Family Forum event.
Make Art Make Money by Elizabeth Hyde Stevens. The author studied famous puppeteer Jim Henson's career and came up with 10 tips on how to fuel creativity. Aimed at artists and creative professionals, an electronic copy of the book is available now. Hard copies will be published in March.
Art as Therapy by Alain de Botton and John Armstrong. This book tackles the purpose of art and looks at the ways art can help us manage problems and better understand ourselves.