Best ar books for 3rd grade

3rd grade reading books for children aged 8-9 in Elementary School

Books for grade 3 – this list of grade 3 books has been carefully compiled by teachers and librarians to appeal to elementary school children aged 8-9. There is a range of easier short stories and more challenging chapter books that are ideal to share aloud or read independently for the first time. This list of 3rd grade reading recommendations includes titles by Dick King-Smith, Roald Dahl, Judy Blume, Joyce Sidman, Beverly Cleary, Lenore Look Cornelia Funke and more.

Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman

An evocative collection of poems that describe dusk to darkness to moonlight to dawn – and everything that happens beyond our eyes while we are asleep. A great book to read with a class, and useful to spark imaginative ideas for children’s creative writing.

Poetry

Babe by Dick King-Smith

The classic heart-warming story of a pig who learns how to herd sheep, which was turned into the blockbuster film ‘Babe’. An ideal reading book for the start of third grade.

Animal story

The Adventures of Paddington by Michael Bond

Paddington Bear arrives from far away Peru and takes over the lives of the Brown family when they meet at Paddington station. Classic, timeless and great fun.

Adventure

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

The Penderwick children embark on exciting adventures in this classic children’s series set in Massachusetts. Ideal for imaginative third-grade children to get hooked on.

Adventure

The World According to Humphrey by Betty Birney

Humphrey is an inquisitive and clever homeroom hamster who listens to everything. Soon he understanding reading and writing and joins in class. But can he outwit the evil teacher, Mrs Brisbane?

Animal story

Bad to the Bone by Lucy Nolan

‘Here Kitty Kitty’ is a scheming cat that lives next door and ‘Down Girl’ is the family dog and hero of the story. Great fun and ideal for reluctant 9 year old readers.

Family | Animal story

The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas

Set in a fantasy world of spells and wizards, Conn finds himself thrown into adventures and solving mysteries. Exciting and fast-paced.

Mystery

Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate

Crenshaw is more than Jackson’s imaginary cat friend – he might be able to save the day and show Jackson how to solve all his problems. Touching and thoughtful, this book is ideal as a third grade class reader.

Friendship | Animal story

The Man Who Walked Between The Towers by Mordicai Gerstein

The captivating picture book story of Frenchman Phillippe Petit who walked a tightrope between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York in 1974. A jaw-dropping story and equally inspiring illustrations.

Picture book

Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson

An emotional and thought-provoking book about the effects of bullying told through free verse and touching artwork. A really good choice to use with grade three classes.

Contemporary

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

A must-have book for any third and fourth grade library. Highly entertaining with fun comic-style illustrations and excellent for motivating 3rd grade children who don’t like to read.

Autobiography

Big Nate by Lincoln Pierce

Fun comic style adventure stories about Nate – and his life at home and at school. Perfect for children who liked Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and ideal for less enthusiastic readers.

Humor

Wayside School by Louis Sachar

Wayside School is a place where things go horribly wrong, often with hysterically funny consequences – especially on the thirteenth floor. Very funny and ideal for 8 and 9 year olds.

School story

Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black

A thrilling fantasy series in which Jared, Simon and Mallory set off on adventures and solve mysteries in a gripping world of fairies and long-forgotten secrets. A more challenging 3rd grade read.

Fantasy

The Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein

Alwyn the cat has magic powers in this book set in a world of witches and wizards. But will he be powerful enough to save his friends when they are captured by an evil queen?

Fantasy

The Twits by Roald Dahl

Mr and Mrs Twit are a revolting couple. They smell, they’re vile and they play nasty jokes on each other. But the Muggle-Wumps, the house pets, finally decide to put a stop to the Twits’ tricks in this extremely funny grade 3 book with short chapters.

Humor

Alvin Ho by Lenore Look

If your child is a fan of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, they are bound to enjoy this story about Alvin who is scared of everything, hates school, hates girls and longs to be a superhero.

Realistic fiction

Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine

Henry doesn’t know how old he is or when his birthday is. Born into slavery he longs for freedom, and one day, he seizes his chance.

Classic

Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe

An African folktale about two very different sisters who both dream of marrying the king. Will the king pick the scheming selfish sister or the kind-hearted sister?

Diverse

Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

Everyone thinks Fudge is the perfect child, except his older brother Peter, who knows what he’s really like and what he gets away with. How can Peter make his parents notice him more? Very funny and a great easy read for third and fourth grade children.

Family

The Legend of Spud Murphy by Eoin Colfer

When Will’s mother decides to send him to the library he’s terrified of the librarian – Spud Murphy – rumored to have a huge spud powered gun to shoot children who misbehave. But slowly Will discovers the library is a great place. Great for reluctant readers.

Humor

Little Wolf’s Book of Badness by Ian Whybrow

A very funny story about Little Wolf, his uncle Bigbad and a school where he has to learn the 9 rules of badness. A great book to read aloud.

Animal story

Canned by Alex Shearer

Fergal collects grocery cans with no labels. When his mother decides he has too many, she tells him he must open one before he adds any more to his collection. But there are some nasty surprises inside the cans he opens and Fergal is determined to find out who is responsible.

Mystery

Poppy by Avi

In this stunningly well-illustrated fable, Poppy, a tiny mouse, faces the bullying owl Mr Ocax in a perilous quest in search of a better home and more food for her family. A great book to read with your 3rd grade child.

Fable

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler by E L Konigsburg

When Claudia decides to run away, she doesn’t want to go just anywhere, so she picks the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Along with her younger brother, she is drawn into a mystery when a beautiful statue is perhaps not all that is seems.

Mystery

Ghost Hunters by Cornelia Funke

Nine-year-old Tom’s grandma’s best friend is the world’s best ghost hunter, and with her help, Tom tracks down some seriously revolting ghosts. Very funny and ideal for reluctant readers in the third grade.

Mystery

Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl

Nasty farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean have joined forces to try and catch clever Mr. Fox and his family. But Mr. Fox has a cunning plan to escape them. Will it work? Very funny and ideal to read aloud in grade 3.

Humor | Animal story

Muggie Maggie by Beverly Cleary

Maggie refuses to practise cursive handwriting. Why should she? What’s the point? But that soon changes when she wants to spy on her teacher’s handwriting…

School story

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

The Alden children make a home in an old boxcar, and in doing so find a grandfather and begin a series of adventures solving mysteries. A classic set of stories which will appeal to eight and nine-year-olds.

Classic

The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Catling

John discovers he has a magic gift. Everything he touches turns to chocolate. At first, this is great, but soon he begins to regret his new power. Ideal for 3rd grade reluctant readers, particularly those who prefer shorter chapters.

Fantasy

Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parrish & Fritz Seibel

Amelia Bedelia is a very good girl does who does exactly what she’s told. Except, because she takes everything absolutely literally, this often has hilarious results. Great to read aloud in groups.

Classic

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Three unlikely friends, Despereaux the mouse, Roscuro the rat, Pea the princess and Miggery Sow a slave girl set off on an epic quest to find their destinies despite many dangers. A classic short chapter book perfect for emerging readers.

Classic

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

James is sent to live with his two evil aunts after his parents are unexpectedly eaten by a wild Rhino. Just when he thinks things can’t get any worse, a chance encounter with magic, and a peach that grows and grows, finds him escaping in a hugely imaginative and funny adventure that will appeal to younger readers in the third grade.

Fantasy | Humor

If you would like to order all or most of the 3rd grade reading books in this list; or if you want to order classroom sets or multiple copies of books; or if you are ordering from outside the US,  have a look at our ‘bulk orders’ page which makes this process easy.

Click for more reading recommendations – Kindergarten books | Grade 1 books | Grade 2 books | Grade 3 books (this page) | Grade 4 books | Grade 5 books | Grade 6 books | Grade 7 books | Grade 8 books | Grade 9 books | Grade 10 books | Grade 11 books | Grade 12 books

Please do share or link to this page via social media, but refrain from copying or reproducing our 3rd grade book synopses. Please respect intellectual property and copyright. Thank you.

90 Popular Accelerated Reader Books for Grades 1-12

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. As a result, this post may or may not contain affiliate links and/or promotional products. All opinions expressed on this site are that of California Unpublished. Please read our full disclosures for more information.

Sharing is caring!

317 shares

• Share317
• Tweet
• LinkedIn
• Email

This year our children began participating in the Accelerated Reader program at school. Accelerated Reader is a progress monitoring software assessment widely use by primary and secondary schools for monitoring the practice of student's reading.

Accelerated Reader accesses a student's reading level, suggests titles of books at that level, and then assess whether a student has completed reading popular accelerated reader books by asking a short series of quiz questions. The best part is, not only do our children want to read the selections Accelerated Reader suggests for them, but they are excited about reading for the first time.

The following books are just a few of the hundreds of popular accelerated reader books available for children to read. Additional popular accelerated reader books include the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, the Diary of a Wimpy Kids series by Jeff Kinney, Lemony Snicket, and Rick Riordan. Most importantly, all the accelerated reader books on this list are approved for Accelerated Reading quizzes.

Grade 1 Accelerated Reader Books

• All by Myself, Mayer, Mercer
• Biscuit, Capucilli, Alyssa Satin
• Buzz Boy and Fly Guy, Arnold, Tedd
• The Cat in the Hat, Seuss, Dr.
• Clifford the Big Red Dog, Bridwell, Norman
• David Goes to School, Shannon, David
• Goodnight Moon, Brown, Margaret Wise
• I Was So Mad, Mayer, Mercer
• More Spaghetti, I Say!, Gelman, Rita Golden
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Carle, Eric

Grade 2 Accelerated Reader Books

• Amelia Bedelia, Parish, Peggy
• Corduroy, Freeman, Don
• Diary of a Worm, Cronin, Doreen
• The Giving Tree, Silverstein, Shel
• Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night, Rylant, Cynthia
• Miss Nelson Is Missing!, Allard, Harry
• The Principal from the Black Lagoon, Thaler, Mike
• Super Fly Guy, Arnold, Tedd
• The Tiny Seed, Carle, Eric
• Where the Wild Things Are, Sendak, Maurice

Grade 3 Accelerated Reader Books

• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Viorst, Judith
• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Barrett, Judi
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Kinney, Jeff
• First Day Jitters, Danneberg, Julie
• The Polar Express, Van Allsburg, Chris
• Stone Fox, Gardiner, John Reynolds
• Tonight on the Titanic, Osborne, Mary Pope
• The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, Scieszka, Jon
• Two Bad Ants, Van Allsburg, Chris
• Wolf!, Bloom, Becky

Grade 4 Accelerated Reader Books

• Akiak: A Tale from the Iditarod, Blake, Robert J.
• The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Robinson, Barbara
• Big Nate Strikes Again, Peirce, Lincoln
• Charlotte's Web, White, E.B.
• Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School, Teague, Mark
• Frindle, Clements, Andrew
• The Great Kapok Tree, Cherry, Lynne
• Heat Wave!, Ketteman, Helen
• Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life, Russell, Rachel Renée
• Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Blume, Judy

Grade 5 Accelerated Reader Books

• The Bad Beginning, Snicket, Lemony
• Bridge to Terabithia, Paterson, Katherine
• Bud, Not Buddy, Curtis, Christopher Paul
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Rowling, J.K.
• Hatchet, Paulsen, Gary
• The Invention of Hugo Cabret: A Novel in Words and Pictures, Selznick, Brian
• Maniac Magee, Spinelli, Jerry
• Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star, Russell, Rachel Renée
• Tuck Everlasting, Babbitt, Natalie
• Where the Red Fern Grows, Rawls, Wilson

Grade 6 Accelerated Reader Books

• Among the Hidden, Haddix, Margaret Peterson
• The Cay, Taylor, Theodore
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, Kinney, Jeff
• The Giver, Lowry, Lois
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Rowling, J. K.
• Number the Stars, Lowry, Lois
• The Red Pyramid, Riordan, Rick
• Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl, Russell, Rachel Renée
• The Throne of Fire, Riordan, Rick
• The Wide Window, Snicket, Lemony

Grade 7 Accelerated Reader Books

• Breaking Dawn, Meyer, Stephenie
• A Christmas Carol (Unabridged), Dickens, Charles
• Holes, Sachar, Louis
• The Giver, Lowry, Lois
• The Outsiders, Hinton, S.E.
• Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, Kipling, Rudyard
• Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Taylor, Mildred D.
• Tangerine, Bloor, Edward
• Touching Spirit Bear, Mikaelsen, Ben
• The Watsons Go to Birmingham–1963, Curtis, Christopher Paul

Grade 8 Accelerated Reader Books

• Animal Farm, Orwell, George
• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Boyne, John
• The Call of the Wild, London, Jack
• The Diary of Anne Frank, Goodrich, Frances
• My Brother Sam Is Dead, Collier, James Lincoln
• Night, Wiesel, Elie
• Nothing but the Truth, Avi
• The Pearl, Steinbeck, John
• The Pigman, Zindel, Paul
• To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee, Harper

Grades 9 – 12 Accelerated Reader Books

• Anthem, Rand, Ayn
• Dear John, Sparks, Nicholas
• Frankenstein (Unabridged), Shelley, Mary
• The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald, F. Scott
• The Help, Stockett, Kathryn
• Julius Caesar, Shakespeare, William
• Lord of the Flies, Golding, William
• The Lucky One, Sparks, Nicholas
• The Notebook, Sparks, Nicholas
• Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck, John

Do you have a favorite popular accelerated reader book to add to our list? Leave the title in the comments below.

Drawing lessons. 12 books that will teach you how to draw at any age

It doesn't matter if you're going to be an artist or just want to learn how to communicate your ideas visually - it's important to do it technically. We have selected 12 books that will help you convey to the audience the subtle shades of soul and meaning - everything that you wanted to say.

Being able to draw every day fills life with meaning and makes you happier.

1. Simple drawing

Do you want to discover drawing from a new side? Dmitry Gorelyshev will help: share knowledge and tools, tell you how to get away from templates, teach you to act sincerely and enthusiastically. His book is a great collection of exercises, examples and inspiration. It will be useful for illustrators, designers, animators and general artists. Beginners and professionals. The effectiveness of the methodology has already been assessed by students of the Stroganov, British, and Simple Schools. And now you can too. nine0003

A few lessons - and you are already drawing a fantasy costume, a figure in an interior, an architectural portrait, an imaginary landscape, a person in motion or a panorama.

2. How to understand watercolor

Have you licked the tip of the watercolor brush? Remember how sweet she tasted? She is still just as sweet and waiting for you. In this tutorial, renowned artist and experienced teacher Tom Hoffmann reveals the secrets of watercolor painting and shares professional tricks. You will learn to THINK like a watercolorist. nine0003

It has never been so easy to tame this rebellious paint, which fascinates with its spontaneity, conveys the play of light and emotions.

Photo by @dariasham

3. Drawing. Complete guide

If you are serious and want to learn only from the best, take the book of the famous Italian artist and professor of the Milan Academy of Fine Arts Giovanni Civardi. This is a detailed guide for those who love to draw and want to improve their skill level by mastering all aspects and techniques of drawing. On the pages of the book you will find detailed step-by-step illustrations of the creation of portraits, a figure of a man in clothes, nudes, hands and feet, groups of people, natural and urban landscapes. nine0003

4. Watercolor landscapes

The right brush and a good mentor is what you need for landscape watercolor. The advice of the master of beautiful, light and airy drawings, Terry Harrison, will allow you to draw easily and confidently. You will learn how to achieve the desired effects and consciously wield brushes. Surprisingly beautiful landscapes will conquer you: Venetian streets, snow-covered plains, tropical beaches and many others. nine0003

Go through 10 exciting step-by-step lessons from the book and you will understand that watercolor landscapes are available not only to Aivazovsky.

Photo by @allalsk

Subscribe to newsletter

5. Sketching with markers with Anna Rastorgueva

Anna Rastorgueva's sketches are extraordinarily attractive — juicy, bright, elegant. From broccoli to a carved throne room on a distant island. You will learn how to choose markers, build a composition, keep a sketchbook. The book describes six main genres of sketching: still life, interior, reportage sketches, portrait, cookbook, travel diary. nine0003

Throw away shyness, choose a subject to your liking, take a marker in your hands and make this life brighter

6. Watercolor without rules

The book has a telling title. And you will feel boundless freedom, inspiration and joy from the fact that you can do this with watercolor - without rules, boldly and sweepingly. Together with professional artist Jean Haynes, you will go on a colorful journey. All you need to practice this book is a couple of tubes of paint, two brushes, paper, salt, a toothbrush, and water. Remember, the process is more important than the outcome. nine0003

This is not a book, but a continuous watercolor meditation

7. Letter to letter

We are surrounded by letters. They wish good morning from the screens when we wake up, they talk to us in the afternoon from work mail letters. They support us when we are having a hard time. Calm down when we are sad. Each has its own mood. Can you guess it? How about creating that mood? Lettering is a spiritual and useful activity. Having mastered simple techniques, you will see that lettering is suitable for a variety of tasks: designing invitations, postcards, posters, posters, books. The book contains theory, practice and many examples of fonts and compositions. nine0003

You will learn how to make beautiful postcards for loved ones. And posters - certainly with your favorite quotes. Fill out art books. Express yourself, after all.

8. Diary of a naturalist artist

Observation helps to love life. John Muir Lowes is sure that in the forest a diary is like binoculars - it helps to see the main thing and feel life in its entirety. This magnificent and voluminous (300 pages!) book contains an incredible amount of valuable advice: you will learn how to choose materials, draw animals and plants, landscapes and the sky correctly. You will learn how to work with colored pencils, markers, ballpoint pens and watercolors. nine0003

Listening to forest karaoke and enjoying every moment that is saturated with the smell of lingonberries and creativity - that's what it's like to be a nature artist.

You will begin to notice things that you have never seen before: the falling shadow of a leaf, the pure natural colors, the ripples of the water, the reflection of the sun. — Spread from the book

9. Watercolor sketch

The world is full of color. Glossy cherry, burgundy maple, chamomile fields - ah! But with the advent of winter, the riot of colors disappears, and after sunset, darkness reigns. Watercolor will help keep the color! This book is a real story in pictures with a lot of useful tips and practical comments, illustrated with unusual and bright sketches by the author. Felix is ​​inimitable: easily and naturally, interspersed with interesting facts and advice, he sets out a necessary and important theory. nine0003

You read a book and you are charged with confidence: I will succeed!

The book contains unusual bold bright illustrations, little-known tricks and unusual sketching tips from a contemporary artist.

10. Beginner Acrylic

Another beautiful book about drawing. This time - acrylic! You will work with acrylics for two weeks. Step by step - every day a new picture. The proposed plots will appeal to both beginners and experienced artists: they will help to deepen the technique or practice. This is an intensive course for acrylic lovers, which will reveal the techniques and methods of creating an image and much more. nine0003

14 days - 14 paintings

In acrylic painting, it is easy to correct both small and large flaws. Show spontaneity, intuition and passion.

11. Botanical illustration with colored pencils

Watercolor pencils are something new: they are easy to handle and appreciated for their ability to render small details with great precision. With the help of pencils, you can achieve the same amazing effects as when drawing with paints. Ann Swan will teach you how to do underpainting, work in the layering technique and polish the paint layer, select and mix colors. nine0003

Down with stereotypes! Not only children in kindergartens have been drawing with pencils for a long time. A new world is waiting for you.

In the book you can draw new knowledge for yourself and find inspiration for independent work

12. You will be able to draw in 30 days

A vibrant book that will inspire you to find and follow your true calling. Inside are delicious stories. Useful exercises. And sea. A sea of ​​inspiration on every page. This book is written in support of your inner voice that says that you can give this world something special. nine0003

Photo by @nad3v.

Subscribe to newsletter

“Your newsletter is so cool, you don’t even have to buy a book” — say our subscribers. Do you also want to learn about new books about creativity, drawing, writing? Then leave your mail, we will send you useful reviews about creative books.

Other selections

327 more creative books

Learning to draw from books. List of the best textbooks.

Learning to draw from books. List of the best drawing tutorials.

When we master a new field of activity: whether we learn to draw, knit or even dance, then all methods of learning are good. Especially if they suit your way of perceiving information. Most people who are passionate about drawing do not perceive information well by ear. They need to see, read, hold in their hands. Therefore, drawing tutorials were, are, and will be. nine0003

Every year there are more and more drawing aids. And I understand the questions of my students about which drawing books are really worth buying? What textbooks really will teach you how to draw correctly ?

There is no definite answer to this question. It all depends on your initial level of preparation and your goals in drawing.

Some people need manuals with “how to draw a cat” diagrams, some people need step-by-step drawing lessons, and someone has already matured to a thorough study of how to draw a person, to plastic anatomy. nine0003

I am very critical of books a la “draw a dog in 5 steps”, so this review will contain more serious drawing tutorials. However, I do not consider all the books described as necessary. Those that I find really useful for my students are given at the end of the review.

Drawing textbooks approved by the Russian Ministry of Education.

It is logical to assume that a textbook for art educational institutions contains the most correct and complete information on teaching drawing. Is not it? nine0003

I will disappoint you. This is far from always correct for the specialty “fine arts”. If there are many more texts in such a textbook than pictures, if a book on painting is provided with black-and-white illustrations, then many questions arise. .. Therefore, they have a lot of methodology, history and philosophy of art, rather than practice that is understandable for beginners.

A big plus of such textbooks is low cost (not all, of course). The second “plus” is your confidence that you are learning “the right way”. After all, this is the base that thousands of artists master. So, after studying these books you will speak the same language with them .

The first set that I would recommend to beginners is

• Natalya Sokolnikova “Fine Arts”, a textbook for grades 5-8.

The set consists of 4 parts: Fundamentals of Drawing, Fundamentals of Painting, Fundamentals of Composition and a Concise Dictionary of Art Terms. Although this is a textbook for children, it will be very useful for beginners. Everything is presented clearly, colorfully, structured. No water. And at the same time, a deep immersion in the topic in all the basic basics of drawing. nine0003

The following textbooks are for students. I will divide them by subject.

Drawing and graphics textbooks:

Classics, which taught many generations of artists:

• Drawing. Textbook for students, 1975
• N.N. Rostovtsev “Academic drawing”
• A. Deineka “Learn to draw”
• Nikolai Li "Fundamentals of educational academic drawing"

Textbooks in certain areas of drawing:

• V. S. Kuzin. " Picture. Sketches and sketches”
• Margarita Makarova. “Practical Perspective.”, 2015
• Boris Lushnikov “Drawing. Portrait”
• Rudolf Paranyushkin, Elena Trofimova “Drawing of a human figure”

A series of textbooks by V. Beschastnov on graphics:

• N.P. Beschastnov “Black and white graphics”, 2008
• N.P. Beschastnov “Color graphics”, 2014
• N.P. Beschastnov “Still life graphics”, 2014
• N.P. Beschastnov “Landscape graphics”, 2008
• N.P. Beschastnov “Subject graphics”, 2012

Textbooks on painting and color science:

• Nikolai Prokofiev. "Painting. Painting technique and technology of painting materials”
• Yuri Shashkov. “Painting and its means”
• Stanislav Lomov, Seytkali Amanzholov "Colour Science"

Composition textbooks:

• Rudolf Paranyushkin “Composition”, 2005
• Galina Logvinenko “Decorative composition”, 2012
• O.L. Golubeva “Fundamentals of Composition”

Universal textbooks on the basics of fine arts:

Georgy Beda “Fundamentals of Visual Literacy”

The Russian school of teaching drawing is known and appreciated all over the world. Strong academic drawing, tonally verified painting, complex realistic compositions.

However, the big disadvantage of our school, in my opinion, is its inflexibility. We do not draw, but “build”; we draw a person in the same way as architecture, collecting from geometric shapes. And most importantly, training is more built on long years of training, and not on understanding the general laws of nature and the keys of drawing and painting. nine0003

That is why drawing books popular in the west quickly became bestsellers in our country as well.

They are often based on completely different methods of teaching drawing . And these techniques are best suited for beginners.

Surprisingly, these “less water” drawing tutorials have more practice and good illustrations.

World bestseller art teaching books

• Betty Edwards “Discover the artist in you” / “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain”

This book, translated into 17 languages, already published in more than 2.5 million copies, has been reprinted more than once in Russia.

Professor Edwards' methodology formed the basis of many drawing courses. I also partially use it in the course “Keys of Drawing” and in the lessons of the “School of Fine Arts”

Its difference from the system of “construction” familiar to us in drawing is the reliance on the right-hemispheric mode of perception of the brain. To make this switch Betty Edwards offers a number of techniques described in the book. nine0003

View this book on the labyrinth

9 Bert Dodson “Art of drawing” (in other editions - “Keys to the art of drawing”) \ “Keys to DRAWING’

The book is written in an accessible language and well illustrated. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn how to draw from life “from scratch”. The Natural Way to Draw: A Working Plan for Art Study

Methods of Nikolaidis formed the basis of teaching in many Western universities.

This book is a system of exercises that a student must complete in order to learn how to draw in a natural way. nine0003

However, those who want to learn according to this technique should be prepared to practice for 5-7 years, and already perform the very first exercises by drawing a person from nature. In my opinion, this is not the easiest path, it requires a conscious desire to become an artist and daily work.

Look at the Labyrinth

• Johannes Itten “The Art of Color”/”Kunst 203” 903 903