5th, Middle School, High School ; Hard Cover, Nonfiction ; Highly Recommended

SmART: Use your eyes to boost your brain, by Amy E. Herman with Heather Maclean

This non-fiction book is a guidebook of self-discovery and self-education to help the reader learn to stimulate their brain and get smarter. The strategy involves really learning to see the things around us, but particularly using famous works of art to learn to do this. The author does a nice job asking the reader to interact with each piece of art in the book, often multiple times, as the reader is encouraged to notice more and more interesting aspects of the art. By the end of the book, I found I was noticing more than I was at the beginning of the book. I also liked that by using these strategies, the reader might find these observational skills might help reduce stress since it refocuses the brain on something else, taking a break from whatever might be stressing them. The book is very interactive which I liked, but if a reader is more passive & chooses not to engage, they may not get as much out of the book. And that would be a shame. The message is powerful and the strategies work! This book should appeal to students who like art, but it can equally be enjoyed by someone who knows NOTHING about art.