Bea Reviews I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont and Illustrated by David Catrow

Publisher: Harcourt
Source: Purchased
Release Date: April 1st, 2005
Buying Links: Amazon* | Abe Books | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Books |
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Blurb from goodreads:

A dab of blue here, a splash of red there, a goopy smear of green . . . everywhere. To the tune of "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More," one creative kid floods his world with color, painting first the walls, then the ceiling, then HIMSELF! Before this feisty artist is through, he'll have painted his head, back, hands, legs, feet, and . . . Oh no--here comes Mama!

Karen Beaumont's zippy text and David Catrow's zany illustrations turn an infamous childhood activity into raucous storytime fun, giving a silly twist to the fine art of self-expression.

Bea Reviews The Grown-Up's Guide to Making Art with Kids by Lee Foster-Wilson

Publisher: Walter Foster Publishing
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: May 21st, 2019
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository*  |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Make art and memories with the special kids in your life! Packed with how-to drawing and painting projects, creative prompts, and original crafting activities, The Grown-Up’s Guide to Making Art with Kids will inspire you and your little ones to spend hours of creative fun together.

This book includes drawing and painting projects featuring popular, kid-friendly, and on-trend subjects—like dinosaurs, pets, flowers, and robots—that adults and kids can create together. Guided practice pages invite interactivity and allow children and adults to draw and paint the same subjects, side by side, for a fun-filled joint activity. The book’s artwork is colorful, approachable, and done using ordinary, easily available art tools, including markers, crayons, colored pencils, and acrylic paint.

In addition to drawing lessons, The Grown-Up’s Guide to Making Art with Kids also includes projects and ideas for using artwork created from the prompts in the book to make crafts, including a map, pop-up art, and paper dolls.

The Grown-Up’s Guide to Making Art with Kids teaches valuable drawing, painting, and crafting skills to both kids and adults; inspires creativity; and encourages family togetherness. What better way to avoid screen time than by drawing, painting, and creating together with your kids? Follow-up books in the series include The Grown-Up's Guide to Paint Pouring with Kids and The Grown-Up's Guide to Crafting with Kids, both publishing in June 2020.

Group Review of If Picasso Painted a Snowman by Amy & Greg Newbold

Publisher: Tilbury House Publishers
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: October 3rd, 2017 
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Tilbury House | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

If someone asked you to paint a snowman, you would probably start with three white circles stacked one upon another. Then you would add black dots for eyes, an orange triangle for a nose, and a black dotted smile. But if Picasso painted a snowman…

From that simple premise flows this delightful, whimsical, educational picture book that shows how the artist’s imagination can summon magic from a prosaic subject. Greg Newbold’s chameleon-like artistry shows us Roy Lichtenstein’s snow hero saving the day, Georgia O’Keefe’s snowman blooming in the desert, Claude Monet’s snowmen among haystacks, Grant Wood’s American Gothic snowman, Jackson Pollock’s snowman in ten thousand splats, Salvador Dali’s snowmen dripping like melty cheese, and snowmen as they might have been rendered by J. M. W. Turner, Gustav Klimt, Paul Klee, Marc Chagall, Georges Seurat, Pablita Velarde, Piet Mondrian, Sonia Delaunay, Jacob Lawrence, and Vincent van Gogh. Our guide for this tour is a lively hamster who—also chameleon-like—sports a Dali mustache on one spread, a Van Gogh ear bandage on the next.

“What would your snowman look like?” the book asks, and then offers a page with a picture frame for a child to fill in. Backmatter thumbnail biographies of the artists complete this highly original tour of the creative imagination that will delight adults as well as children.

Blog Tour Giveaway & Group Review of A Child's Introduction to Art by Heather Alexander & Illustrated by Meredith Hamilton

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Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal
Series: Child's Introduction
Format Read: Hardcover
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: May 20, 2014
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

The newest volume in Black Dog's best-selling, award-winning Child's Introduction series explores the fascinating world of art and artists and includes do-it-yourself art projects throughout.

In the tradition of Black Dog's best-selling Child's Introduction books, which include The Story of the Orchestra and A Child's Introduction to the Night Sky, A Child's Introduction to Art introduces kids ages 9 through 12 to the art world's most famous painters, styles, and periods, all brought to life through full-color photographs of 40 masterpieces, as well as charming original illustrations.

The book highlights 40 painters and sculptors, including Leonardo da Vinci, Claude Monet, Diego Velasquez, Vincent van Gogh, Salvador Dali, Mary Cassatt, and Andy Warhol, providing information on their life, inspirations, influences, technique, and a full-color photo of one of their signature works of art. It also includes an overview of various styles and periods (Renaissance, Impressionism, Cubism, etc.), instruction on how to view and appreciate art, and information on the color wheel and other tools artists employ.

Fun art projects throughout, such as Can You Find It?, Q-tip pointillism, making a stained-glass window with tissue paper, and Spatter Paint like Pollock, allow kids to learn about painting techniques and explore their own artistic abilities. Also includes five masterpiece paintings to color.

Meredith Hamilton's witty illustrations add another dimension to the excellent text and photographs.

Review: DragonArt Evolution by J "Neon Dragon" Peffer

Book Blurb:  A dragon artist’s guide to better drawing

Magnificent and powerful creatures, these dragons be, with bone-crushing jaws and razor-sharp teeth, it’s difficult to tell whether you’re dealing with a hotheaded nature or a wise and benevolent beast. Therein lies the trouble with drawing them from life. Make your dragon portraits more authentic (while avoiding loss of life and limbs) with the help of this guide. A follow-up to the fiercely popular DragonArt, this book features ALL NEW dragons and EVEN MORE detailed dragon anatomy instruction. 

· 60+ step-by-step demonstrations cover a variety of dragons, including medieval, fairy and sea-dwelling varieties

· In-depth advice for drawing every part of the beast—eyes, ears, horns, wings, scale patterns, limbs and more

· Extra tips and tricks provided by your dragon guide, Dolosus

It’s everything you need to draw a variety of dragons—from enormous, ancient beasts with broken scales and fractured horns, to sleek, sinuous creatures with leathery skin and fancy frills. So steel your heart, prepare your trusty inking pen, and venture forth, brave artist … unleash the ferocious, extraordinary, original beasts that dwell within your fiery imaginings!

***NOTE: This review originally appeared at The Book Lovers Inc blog as a dual review. The review was actually two sided of myself, the school teacher and the book reviewer, working together. I have reproduced the review as it originally appeared. My review name at that blog is The Charmed Lover. ***

My/Our Thoughts:  
The book came with a flyer describing it as a tool for increasing creativity and quoted some studies concerning children's creativity. I teach (pre-school) so that jumped out at me. Perusing the book, I had two very distinct reactions: my teacher's voice was saying one thing and my reader's voice was saying something else so I decided to do this review using both voices.

Why did you decide to read DragonArt Evolution?

Bea The Teacher: My interest was immediately caught by the publisher's claim that the book could help counter loss of chidlren's creativity due to the amount of time they spend watching tv. That topic is a hot button at my own school so I was curious to see how, or if, the book met the publishers claims. Additionally, I'm of the school of thought that it's the process, not the product, that matters.

The Charmed Lover: I have always loved dragons, they are one of my favorite mythological creatures but I can't draw worth a darn. Even my stick figures are sad little creatures. The teacher part of me knows that I shouldn't care so much about the result but I get  frustrated nonetheless. I hoped that I might be able to draw something resembling a dragon.

What were your expectations before you started the book?

Bea The Teacher: I worried that it would be a paint, or in this case, draw by the numbers book.

The Charmed Lover: I had the same worry and also worried that the illustrators pictures were so gorgeous that someone trying to draw their own dragon might feel intimidated.

When you started reading the book what was your first impression?

Bea The Teacher: I loved the illustrations! The colors, the details, everything was so gorgeous and the faces have such emotion to them.

The Charmed Lover: I felt the same. I spent a long time just looking at the final products and enjoying their loveliness.

Final Verdict? Does the book meet it's goal?

Bea The Teacher: Yes and no. I think it definitely meets the author's stated goal of helping the reader learn to draw dragons. Does it meet the publisher's goal? Well, that's harder to measure but I'm doubtful. I do think that the book will encourage the readers both to practice and to experiment. Peffer gives not only detailed steps for each dragon and illustration but she explains the reasons behind each step and the book has mini lessons on topics such as shading and perspective. If this is the readers first introduction to thinking about art that way, it might encourage them to keep experimenting and to seek out instruction.

I really like that Peffer continually encourages the reader to experiment and to draw their own dragons; her illustrations are both a goal and a starting point. She never makes the reader feel like their work is lesser if it doesn't look like her finished product.

It's definitely not a draw by the numbers sort of book so it may end up encouraging some creativity after all.

The Charmed Lover: I still can't draw a dragon, or a decent stick figure, but I liked this book. The author is very encouraging and frequently reassures the reader that the desired results take time and practice. She encourages the reader to make their own dragons, not just the ones that she has drawn in the book. She gives detailed instructions, complete with explanations, and offers mini art lessons on such topics as anatomy, the color wheel and even geography ie how a dragon's environment would affect it's build. The book is fun, never dry, humorous and a joy to look at even if you never try to draw.

Publisher: Impact

Release Date:  August 19, 2010