Tag: Art

Sophie Mouse

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by Poppy Green, illustrated by Jennifer A. Bell

The Sophie Mouse series started in 2015 and the 20th book comes out this May, 2023.  We did not read these in order when first discovering them. The first one I remember reading to the kids was Book 14, The Great Bake Off.  And while these books all end with more of an “Awww…” than an emotional tear, this particular one hit me at the right time and I definitely got misty-eyed.

Sophie Mouse’s world in Silverlake Forest is charming.  It’s lovely and ideal, with all animal species getting along, but it without ever feeling sappy.  These books make me want to run and play outside, and if I could live in a book, this world would be a top-contender.  Sophie and her friends deal with themes of jealousy, fear, doubt, feeling left out, even prejudice.  But all of it is treated in an extremely light-hearted way.  I ADORE that Sophie makes her paints for her art from items in Nature.  I love that all the items in their world, from the brooms to the dishes are made with objects from Nature.  I love reading about the culinary delights that Mrs. Mouse is baking!  I love that the animals are all kind to each other.  I sometimes skip over parts when Sophie feels frustrated by her younger brother wanting to tag along, but even these moments are handled in a very nice way.  These are relatively short chapter books, with about nine or ten chapters in each one and accompanying illustrations throughout.  Everything about the Sophie books is endearing–the characters, the stories, the illustrations, the plots.  My kids have loved these books from the beginning, and I definitely have too.  I look forward to reading them just as much as they do!

 

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Little Leaders Coloring Page

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The amazing Vashti Harrison has 6 wonderful Little Leaders books out.  I heard an interview with Vashti on a virtual Children’s Book Festival last year and knew I had found a new favorite.  Her artwork is SOOOooo gorgeous, and I immediately ordered several prints from her Society6 page.

Anyway, she has shared this blank Little Leaders coloring page, which would be so much fun on its own, but also such a wonderful addition to many learning projects.  While we were having our Inaugural Ball here at home, my daughter colored several of these with her own characters and hung them up as a wall of Presidents, including her own self-portrait, of course, as the current President.  These would be great for biography projects, self-portraits, studying/drawing historical fashion, etc.  It would be fun to make a small booklet of these using A-Z of famous people or family members.  The link above is awesome, and you definitely need to visit Vashti’s site and check out her books, but here’s a link to a PDF I made that will print two blank coloring pages per page, if you’re interested.  And because this is the current craze in this house, here’s a link to a Little Little Leaders sheet of 8, as well.


I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Dreidel

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I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Dreidel
words by Caryn Yacowitz
pictures by David Slomin

This goofy spoof of the old lady who swallowed a fly, instead follows an old lady’s journey after she accidentally swallows a dreidel.  With lots of Chanukah references, including latkes, oil, gelt, and, of course, a menorah, this book is pure fun.  My favorite part though is the illustrations that pay homage to famous works of art.  You’ll see parodies of Mona Lisa, American Gothic, and The Starry Night, amongst others equally recognizable.  I really liked the illustrator’s note in the back of the book talking about the reason he decided to parody these famous works.  There is a link under his note claiming to link to the actual art pieces these were based on, but it didn’t seem to be working.  So, if you’d like to view these for yourself or for your kids, I’ve attached links below.

Mona Lisa
American Gothic
The Scream
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp
The Milkmaid
Nighthawks
Campbell’s Soup Cans
Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 (Whistler’s Mother)
Doctor and Doll
The Starry Night
Spectrum II
The Thinker
Christina’s World
Dance (I)

Mona Lisa New Smile

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I recently read about a site where you could change Mona Lisa’s smile with a click of the mouse.  I thought this sounded interesting, but, alas, the page was no longer there.  And even after some poking around, I couldn’t find anything like it.  So, instead, in a very amateur fashion, I have taken out Mona’s smile for some good, old-fashioned pen and paper fun.  (I love how her eyes are still “smiling” no matter what mouth you add.)

If you’re not interested in printing with so much color ink, I’ve also taken her smile out of a black and white coloring-style picture as well.  Of course ,to conserve paper, you could slip this into a plastic protective sheet and use a whiteboard marker to change Mona’s facial expression however many times you’d like!

 

Journey

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Journey (2013) by Aaron Becker

This wordless picture book tells the story of a young girl who, feeling ignored by her busy family, draws a door in her bedroom to escape into new lands.  Using her red crayon to save herself from dead ends and near disasters, she finds adventures and even a new friend.

This beautifully illustrated book won a 2014 Caldecott Honor.  Quest and Return are the other two books in this trilogy.