Wednesday, June 20, 2012

BEST RELUCTANT READER/ACTIVITY BOOK EVER



As soon as I saw this series I was in love. So fun!




Page one introduces the characters...


And since it's a "mash-up" in this Romans and Dino book the characters will be just that. I love the way the cartoons are drawn. I also think that the artists make full use of the two color palate and they make the pages very inviting by coloring the backgrounds in ala-crayon. It's just goofy fun.


Spread two shows you the materials you'll need to get started. On the first page it says, " You'll need these... drawing tools." Then it reads, " These are the 3 tools Nikalas and Tim used to create the artwork in this book. Felt-tip pen or marker - pencil - crayon. Using different tools helps create great drawings." 


This is what I love! Not only is this book encouraging kids to read and color their own stuff but it's explaining how the book artists did it. It's showing kids that it really isn't that hard. I've never seen this done before. LOVE IT. I wish there was something like this for me as a kid. I would have eaten it up. 

On the facing page is the "Texture page." The character at the bottom says, "There are lots of ways you can add texture to your artwork. Here are a few examples." I encounter a lot of kids who tell me that they aren't good artists... but they want to learn or draw anyway. This book is a great way to encourage these kids! This book is also a great way to encourage those kids who DO like to draw and color. It's great for both the reluctant and non! 

Then the story starts and on each page it will tell you to add something to the page-- Like, "Stick a parrot in the window. Or, "Texture the ship to look like wood." "This pole needs a Pirate flag!" 

There isn't a lot of reading in these books but if you have a kid who doesn't like to read and loves to draw this is one way to nudge that child to read... at least a little bit. I as a youngin' would have certainly fit that bill!








Below is a fun video promo for one of the books.



And this is a fun look inside the artists's studio....



No comments:

Post a Comment