The Art Lesson by Tomie DePaola

The Art Lesson by Tomie DePaola

Rating: 5 stars!

Here's a shocker: Lorelei is into reading. Just a bit. We have books EVERYWHERE: in the car, on the kitchen floor, in drawers in the bathroom, in the hallway, in both kids' beds, all sorts of places in the playroom... It is actually embarrassing sometimes. I read (in Mem Fox's Reading Magic) that it's ideal to have big, beautiful books lying around so that they are within reach if/when a child's curiosity piques about books. She'd be proud that I took her suggestion quite literally.

But when it comes to art, Lorelei is a five-minute-art-project gal. I actually got The Art Lesson from the library, hoping that it could serve as a bridge between the world of words and the world of art. We talk about the illustrations in books all the time--how they help you figure out the words, how they paint a picture, how when there aren't enough pictures you can close your eyes and paint your own. But when I bust out the paint or markers or crayons, Lorelei just wants to write the alphabet. Hmmm. I will keep trying!

But this book is just wonderful. It was made for little kids--probably, ideally, for preschoolers and elementary schoolers--who can't stop drawing, like our niece, who at 2 1/2 could draw an actual ladybug that someone other than herself could identify as a ladybug. And lots more things, too. It's a story of Tomie himself, and how he drew anything and everything at home, and was looking forward to first grade, when he got to have art class--gasp!--with a REAL artist. He waits and waits in anticipation, and carries his huge box of Crayola crayons in to use (can't you just picture a little kid doing this?!), only to find out that the art teacher will only let you have one piece of paper, and you have to use the school's crayons, not your own. That wouldn't be fair, after all. Sigh. And, even worse, you have to COPY the artist's drawings. Copy?! Copy?! Tomie had been told by his artist cousins that to be an artist you have to do original stuff, to NOT copy, to be bold and big and courageous with your art. And so a compromise is reached, and Tomie is allowed to use his crayons and get a prized second piece of paper.

This is a great book--a really good gift for a little artist, especially if you include some art supplies (not just one piece of paper).