VISION AND VOICE

Intended to help teens—whether they’re aspiring artists or distracted doodlers—develop through exploring and expressing themselves.

The book’s four sections—“About Being Playful,” “About Me,” “About Feelings,” and “About Knowing Yourself”—feel somewhat arbitrary and redundant; for example, prompts for drawing about apologizing and about making mistakes, though related in theme, are in separate sections. The prompts appear in small text boxes on otherwise blank double-page spreads. Some of the 68 invitations included are so open-ended they’re barely suggestions: “You can draw a picture using your favorite colors,” and “You can draw or illustrate a story.” Some very general or abstract prompts—such as those about a user’s hypothetical wish, superpower, inspiration, or sources of support—could be conversation starters. Other prompts ask for an artistic response to how you feel when you wake up in the morning, what you’re thankful for, or an issue you care about. A list of feelings precedes requests to depict stimuli or situations that produce them. The author also includes a helpful list of coping skills, as well as an endorsement of the power of artistic expression. Created by a licensed art therapist, this book may be a useful tool to support the “healing benefits of art making and creativity”; art therapy books and online resources are plentiful, however, and nothing particularly distinguishes this one. An introductory author’s note explicitly urges those suffering from serious mental health symptoms to seek professional counseling.

A pedestrian addition to a crowded field.