Learn even more about art through the ages in this humorous and informative graphic novel sequel. Two kids and their grandpa continue their adventurous guided exploration of art, civilization, and how they interacted and evolved to become something entirely new. Continuing with the Renaissance and iconic works such as The Last Supper , the Mona Lisa , and the Sistine Chapel , the book winds its way through to the work of Vincent van Gogh, the surrealist movement, to Jackson Pollock, and more. Written by a tour guide for museums and historic landmarks, the text is designed to entertain (with many funny asides and jokes) as it informs. The illustrations accurately portray the art and the artists described, with flavor and humor added to keep readers turning the page. Reproductions of the featured artworks and information about each piece are included in the back, along with a glossary of terms. Gr 4-6-"Now we're in Italy, land of pizza and the Renaissance!" proclaims a bearded lecturer as he drives his two grandchildren through the Alps on a second leg of their tour of Western European art (following The History of Western Art in Comics Part One). Pizza may not get its due, but the Renaissance definitely does as great artists and major works of painting, sculpture, and architecture parade past in Heitz's text-heavy cartoon panels-first in Italy, then to Germany, France, the Netherlands, and England as art movements pass through Baroque, Rococco, Neoclassical, Romantic, and Impressionist styles of expression and on into the 20th century. If readers run the risk of getting bogged down in the barrage of names ("Come on, Braque, let's go to Vollard's. He's showing Cézanne." "I'll be right with you, Pablo"), two time lines and a closing section of closer looks at select works with photos help wrest the narrative into a coherent shape. Also, along with nods to significant technical advances, such as the invention of photography around 1840, there are also savvy insights into ways of looking at art. Still, neither art in the 21st century nor in America gets more than a brief glance (Indigenous art not even that), and the artists named are both dead and white (Jean-Michel Basquiat excepted), as well as overwhelmingly male. The lecturer and grandchildren are white. VERDICT An accessible if conventionally Eurocentric overview of art history, informationally rich but best dished up with surveys that are broader in cultural scope and more focused on the current scene.-John Peters, Children's Literature Consultant, NYα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. "[A] mix of erudition and visual humor. . . ." —Wall Street Journal "Western art history becomes a joyful journey in this information-packed comic. This second volume of History of Western Art in Comics begins where the first left off and follows the development of artistic movements in the context of social and cultural shifts through the late 20th century." —Kirkus Reviews "An accessible . . . overview of art history" —School Library Journal Marion Augustin is a tour guide for several museums and historic landmarks in France. She lives in the Parisian suburbs. Bruno Heitz has written and illustrated many books for children in France. He lives in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.