The Museum Kunst der Westküste is publishing its first MKdW children's book. As her personal project, which every graduate of the voluntary social year (FSJ) at the MKdW can implement, Amelie Paintner expressed her desire to create a book by children for children. ‘I want to explore the question of what stories children tell without any prior knowledge of the depictions in paintings and photographic works.’

In several workshops held in the middle of the exhibitions, children from kindergartens and primary schools on the islands of Föhr and Amrum came up with fantasy stories in small groups in front of their favourite works of art. Each group told the stories to the other children directly in front of the original. Amelie Paintner helped write down the stories.

Seven of these stories about historical and contemporary paintings and photographs – from Max Liebermann to Mila Teshaieva – were selected for the book. Each of the artworks is presented on two double pages in the book: the illustration of each artwork is accompanied by a biography of the artist illustrated by Amelie Paintner. The written fantasy story corresponds to an imaginative illustration of the narrative created by Amelie Paintner in the style of a hidden object picture.

The large-format reading and audio book also includes a section at the end where the illustrations from the stories are available as colouring pages.

Art stories. Seeing the museum through children's eyes

A colouring, reading and audio book

Illustrated by Amelie Paintner

Ages 5 and up

Editors: Sylvia Haumersen, Christiane Morsbach

Authors: Jonas and Nikolas, Frieda and David, Leni and Emily, Tede and Anni, Neele and Mia, Lasse and Lene, Ehlin and Julius (from the islands of Amrum, Föhr,

preschool to first grade) as well as Amelie Paintner and Ulrike Wolff-Thomsen

Publisher: Self-published

Format: 42 x 29.7 cm

Weight: 920 g

Pages: 56

Language: German

Number of colour illustrations: 26

Number of black-and-white illustrations: 7

ISBN: 978-3-942872-08-9