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Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Make Your Own Art Gallery: A Coloring Book-ish, by Peter H. Reynolds. Candlewick Press, Penguin Random House, 2020. $12.99 ages 4 and up



Draw. Frame. Share!
With pages of possibilities,
the creator of the dot and ish
inspires us to make our mark
and see where it takes us.





When I opened the new box to discover this book under the bubble wrap, I knew exactly what to do!

I immediately ordered two copies to be sent to my granddaughters. I hope they arrive in time for an upcoming 6th birthday! Schooling for them will be at home for the near future. They are young and their parents do not want them to be part of an experiment to see what happens when you put a group of young children together in the face of a worldwide pandemic. School is not a safe place to be right now for anyone. Their parents will ensure that learning together remains fun and educational.

To fully participate in the joy of creating, they will need some supplies - crayons, markers, pencil crayons. Peter Reynolds knows that children are artists until someone else tells them are not. They often lose their creative spirit when they are asked to focus on product, not process. Thus, he has created a book that invites young ones to let their imaginations be the inspiration for a coloring book-ish that features frames on the recto and an lined box on the verso that provides a space for the artist's name, the date and the title of their masterpiece. Some frames offer an idea, others do not.

A perforated edge allows removal if the child wants to present the work of art as a gift.

Reading the dot and ish ahead of letting them loose to create their own showpieces would be motivating. Try the library or your favorite bookstore! 

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