While many a beginning concept book focuses solely on colors or shapes, this picture-book collaboration of a newcomer and a veteran introduces young viewers to additional elements of art, including lines, forms, shades, patterns, and textures. In a cumulative This-Is-the-House-That-Jack-Built text, a blank piece of paper in the hands of a mother drawing at the beach becomes a finished portrait of her two daughters. The girls narrate: ``These are the lines/sketched with the colors/that brightened the paper/used for the picture/that Mom drew.'' Each art term is highlighted in type that demonstrates the concept described (e.g., the word lines is underlined). McMillan's trademark full- color photographs take center stage in the first few pages, then become less conspicuous as the portrait develops and becomes the focus. The photos of the creation of the drawing do not always follow the cumulative pattern of the text; instead, the camera zooms in to a specific part of the page to explore the technique. Children will enjoy the surprise of seeing close-up forms, shapes, and textures become a larger whole when the picture is unveiled in the final spread, and learn something about looking at art in the process. (glossary) (Picture book/nonfiction. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-8027-8617-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1996
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
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A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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One more myth dispelled for all the students who believe that their teachers live in their classrooms. During the last week of school, Mrs. Hartwell and her students reflect on the things they will miss, while also looking forward to the fun that summer will bring. The kids want to cheer up their teacher, whom they imagine will be crying over lesson plans and missing them all summer long. But what gift will cheer her up? Numerous ideas are rejected, until Eddie comes up with the perfect plan. They all cooperate to create a rhyming ode to the school year and their teacher. Love’s renderings of the children are realistic, portraying the diversity of modern-day classrooms, from dress and expression to gender and skin color. She perfectly captures the emotional trauma the students imagine their teachers will go through as they leave for the summer. Her final illustration hysterically shatters that myth, and will have every teacher cheering aloud. What a perfect end to the school year. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2006
ISBN: 1-58089-046-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2006
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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