Perhaps because of the blurry lines, and the dream-like feeling of many Impressionist paintings, a great deal of attention has been given to Impressionism in selling products for children. Museum gift shops, toy stores and book stores all sell Impressionist products aimed at children. Some of the many things sold are lunchboxes, card games, puzzles, mugs, pillows, dolls and books. Since it seems that almost every young girl takes ballet lessons at some time in her life, books about Degas and his paintings of dancers are especially popular.
Bijou, Bonbon & Beau by Joan Sweeney is one such book. It adds another aspect that attracts young children as well: kittens. In it, a cat, searching for a place to stay, finds her way to the ballet theater in Paris. There she gives birth to three kittens: Bijou, Bonbon and Beau. Everyone involved in the ballet productions stops by to visit the kittens: the musicians, stagehands and ballerinas, even the artist who comes to sketch them. The antagonist of the story is Armand Klenk, the stage manager, who wants to get rid of the kittens, but is persuaded by the calm, friendly artist to let them stay. On opening night, the kittens make their way onto stage and dance along with the ballerinas. Klenk is furious, but the 
dancing kittens make everyone in Paris want to buy a ticket to the ballet. Klenk allows them to stay, as long as they don’t interrupt a performance again.
Throughout the story, Degas’ name is not mentioned. While all the action is going on onstage, he sits in the theater and quietly sketches the dancers. However, he becomes the hero of the story when he convinces Klenk to let them stay. Klenk listens to Degas because he knows that his paintings of dancers make more people buy tickets. The quiet artist who sketches the dancers and makes such influential paintings is mysterious throughout the story, however, at the end of the book, the reader finds out who he is. A short paragraph about Degas and Impressionism appears at the end. By attracting children’s attention with kittens and ballet, they become eager to learn about the artist who saved the kittens and learn about Impressionism as well. This book, and others like it teach children at a young age to have an appreciation for art, and the artists, like Degas, who create it. By why do children's books never portray Degas as a photographer? - It must be because his work as a photographer was too brief and insignificant.