In The Eye Of The Beholder

I have always been fascinated with combinations of color.  In fact in kindergarten about the only drawings I brought home (and which my Mom saved) were those of rainbows.  Even today, decades later the sight of a rainbow will stop me in my tracks.  It's like everything is spread before you, inviting you to mix and match.

This and my desire to work on my book gap challenge as highlighted by Donalyn Miller, educator and author of The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child, in a post at the Nerdy Book Club, prompted me to pick up a book in the nonfiction section at my favorite indie bookstore last week.  Written by Marjorie Blain Parker with illustrations by Holly Berry Colorful Dreamer: The Story of Artist Henri Matisse (Dial Books for Young Readers) is an impressive, inspirational introduction to the life of one of the most notable artists of the twentieth century. It's a book not only about daring to dream but pursing your dream with a passion.

Years ago a dreamy boy gazed out his bedroom window.  He lived

in a deary village in France.  It was an industrial town---choked with

factories, clanking looms, and smoking chimneys.

Although the town itself seemed cloaked in a dismal gray, spots of color came and went with the seasons.  One constant source of brightness in an otherwise dull landscape was in the mind of Henri Matisse.

His noticeable inability to focus on anything which his hard-working parents deemed important was a source of concern.  It seemed Henri's greatest asset was his ability to imagine; to picture in his mind what he might do.  His parents felt a sense of hope when as a young man he left to study law in Paris.  

As readers without turning the next page we know this is not a good arrangement.  Henri becomes very ill spending a lengthy stay in the hospital.  While there he requests a set of paints from his mother.  

It's as if a cosmic gear has clicked into place  After painting at every opportunity his current job afforded, to his parents' distress, he decided to leave the law profession to pursue a full time career in art.  Years of study, hard work for something he clearly loved and determination fueled his deep desire to succeed.

Family, painting, travel, painting, patrons and painting filled Henri's life.  His distinctive style, his passionate pursuit of his art, eventually brought him the attention he deserved and desired.  In his later years illness caused him to follow another form of expression, cut-paper collage, drawing with scissors, which heightened his fame.  His life closed as it began when he was a little boy...with color; only now it surrounded him.

By acquainting readers with Henry when he is a boy, describing his town, his family and contrasting it with his boyish hopes and aspirations, Marjorie Blain Parker immediately creates a connection with which they can identify.  This connection continues when she uses anecdotes such as his pea-shooting

abilities while clerking or the painting on legal documents for practice as part of his story. What she chooses to tell us about this artist not only makes him real, coming to life within these pages, but conveys without a doubt his dedication to his work.  Her choice of words, the rhythm generated by her sentence structure and length, are those of a storyteller.  

When unfolding the matching jacket and cover, readers are immediately drawn to the vivid palette and differing styles of medium arranged across the two sections, focusing on the boy, surrounded by his adult art on the front and on Matisse's future home and travels on the back.  The bright sky blue of the endpapers becomes a hand squeezing out swirls of red, yellow, blue and green from a paint tube on the title page.  Using colored pencils, acrylic paint, watercolor, ink and collage on rag paper Holly Berry forms illustrations delineating between the two worlds in Henri's life; before and after discovering art.

Her delicate, detailed drawings of the town of Henri's youth (a tiny mouse crossing the cobblestones, the goods in his parents' store, an old milk can) overlaid with the colorful collages of his youthful dreams are splendiferous.  She includes important items such as the doves in the young boy's musings. (Matisse had doves around his home in his adult years.) Most of the pictures of life prior to his assured success are one page crossing the gutter to include half of the other with a narrow framing line to separate the portion used for the text.  Throughout these pages small intricate drawings enhance a single idea within the text.  The remainder of the book is an explosion of color mirroring his style in painting and finally in collage.  Stunning.


The narration written by Marjorie Blain Parker and illustrations by Holly Berry in Colorful Dreamer: The Story of Artist Henri Matisse are as lively as the subject covered within the pages of this book.  A note about Henri Matisse is included on the final page as well as two additional resources and a list of museums housing his art.  Please visit the author and illustrator websites by following the links embedded in their names above.

This is a video which might be used in conjunction with this title.

This is a link to a PBS site where children can make their own virtual Matisse-like collages.  This is a link to an art teacher's website, Art for Small Hands, for a unit on Matisse.

A Lover of Books Returns

When an author, illustrator or both create a character that warms your heart, it is with a secret, special kind of joy you welcome them back in another book.  You're anxious to see if all the little personality quirks are still present; those little details you found endearing.  You're wondering if there will be new characters to meet, new adventures unfolding.  Anticipation runs high.

In Dog Loves Books author/illustrator Louise Yates introduced readers to a furry, white, four-legged little guy who could not contain his passion for the printed word bound between the covers of not one but oodles of books.  When customers didn't pour through the doors of his new bookstore, he lost himself in the stories found in the volumes surrounding him.  A first customer awakens in him the discovery that the best part of books is passing on their joy to others.


Dog's bookstore is thriving when an interesting package arrives one morning.  It's a book from his Aunt Dora but this one is filled with emptiness; no words or pictures.  In a note she invites him to fill the pages with drawings, exploring worlds of his own creation.  He gathers pens, brushes and pencils because Dog Loves Drawing (Alfred A. Knopf).

Drawing a door he walks through, quickly putting pencil to paper to form a stickman companion.  Doodling to their hearts content, they readily agree with the old adage, "the more the merrier."  Dog draws a duck who draws an owl who draws a crab.

All shades of colors, all kinds of tools are being used by these artistic friends with abandon as their imaginations are set free.  With a turn of page they agree to take a trip, a train trip.  From track to sea to sand each contributes to the food, fun and fantasy of their travels.

All's well until Duck's lack of common sense or impulsive impishness adds an unwelcome guest.  Luckily Dog, perhaps because he is so well read, comes up with the perfect avenue of escape.  Horizons expanded, Dog is thankful for his Aunt Dora, her gift and his happy new pals.

Using the technique of an unseen voice, Louise Yates, in a casual, conversational tone, tells this fresh tale of another Dog discovery.  Inter-mixed with the narration is the simple dialogue between Dog and the newly drawn characters.  Her word choice is filled with delight, exploration and curiosity fulfilled.

"Hello," said Dog.
"I'm not sure what else to draw."
"Let's DOODLE!" suggested the stickman.
"That's the best way to come up with ideas."
So that is what they did.

As in Dog Loves Books, Yates uses her endpapers to foreshadow in the beginning and extend the conclusion; this time in white with soft red drawing tools all in a row followed by...those tools being used for fun.  Pencil and watercolor illustrations in delicate shades, appropriately placed on each of the pages, using lots of white space, reach out to the reader.  Her talent with this medium is evident in the emphasis placed on the pens, brushes and pencils; rendering them in lifelike color and size among the sketchier characters and their drawings.

Dog is as endearing as ever with his small legs and paws, perky nose, bent ears and upturned tail.  Aunt Dora is an older version, tan, wearing spectacles and a straw hat.  There is a lightness, a quiet joy, throughout the story featured on the characters's faces with wide eyes and smiling mouths...almost all the time.

In celebration of art and the release of creativity Dog Loves Drawing written and illustrated by Louise Yates is an enchanting adventure.  It is a more than worthy companion to the first title further forging the bond between readers and Dog.  I can't help but wonder what other hidden talents this canine character may have or what other undertakings await him.

Let's Go Exploring

Using Exploratorium, the museum of science, art and human perception, is an experience that could consume hours.  Where else can you discover how to make a battery using your hands, explore how to make a virtual skull, how to tie the six best knots to use on a voyaging canoe, listen to different frog sounds and make a frog chorus, or learn how to make a light painting.  It's one stop shopping for coolness.

Exploratorium was selected in 2011 by the AASL to appear on their Top 25 Websites for Teaching and Learning.  It falls under the Content Resources:  Lesson Plans and More, Standards for 21st Century Learners, 2.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information, 2.4.4 Develop directions for future investigations, and 3.1.2 Participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners.

At the site's home page users are invited by a selection of tabs at the top to peruse the pages according to their status, Who Are You?; educators, parents, artists, teens, museum professionals, scientist, geeks or just plain curious.

When the Explore tab is chosen the following categories appear:  astronomy and space, culture, Earth, everyday science, human body, listening, living things, material world, mind and seeing.  Within each category are thumbnail visuals when moused over give a brief description of what is offered. 

Location and directions, hours and administration, plan your visit, calendar, Tactile Dome, school field trips and groups and parties are options available under the Visit tab.

Under the Membership tab users learn about levels and benefits, how to join on the spot, birthday parties, events, programs, day camps, the homeschool program and frequently asked questions.

By clicking on the About tab readers can better understand the museum's mission which is partial stated below:

The Exploratorium is a museum of science, art, and human perception located in San Francisco, California. We believe that following your curiosity and asking questions can lead to amazing moments of discovery, learning, and awareness, and can increase confidence in your ability to understand how the world works. We also believe that being playful and having fun is an important part of the process for people of all ages.


We create tools and experiences that help you to become an active explorer: hundreds of explore-for-yourself exhibits; a Web site with over 25,000 pages of content; film screenings; workshops for lifelong learners ...

Each year I do a unit with our third grade students building on the Caldecott award winning book, Snowflake Bentley written by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and illustrated by Mary Azarian.  Using the site search box typing in snowflakes, I was rewarded with a plethora of resources; 1,040 to be exact.  To narrow your search on the right hand side are other keyword phrases to use. 
Exploratorium is an outstanding resource for professional and personal discovery.  It's a way of bringing the museum right into your own room.

Literacyhead Revisited---Great Links

On Monday of this week I posted about a fantastic site that combines the best in reading and writing practices with art and children's literature, Literacyhead.com.  This online magazine is a treasure waiting to be discovered and used with our children in the classroom. 

I liked their page on Facebook and have been getting additional suggestions to use in the classroom.
This is just one of the great links that they posted this week, Kidszone, Learning with NCES, National Central for Education Statistics, Create a Graph. 

At Create a Graph there are five different styles of graphs from which to choose, Bar, Line, Area, Pie and XY.  When a selection is made the tabs are Design, Data, Labels, Preview and Print/Save.  For graph novices there is a tutorial in PDF format for viewing or printing. 

Go, go graphs!

Get Ahead With Reading and Writing at Literacyhead.com

On July 27, 2011 I read a blog post at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast by Julie Danielson titled Seven Crazy Realities Everyone Should Know about Literacyhead.com.  That post was just the invitation I needed to explore the site and what it offers to those of us that are completely and totally immersed in the world of words, language, books, and reading and committed to bringing the joy that we have for those powerful treasures to the children that we teach.

The home page itself at Literacyhead.com is a visual feast for the soul but it does not stop there.  The team behind the development of this site is committed to combining the teaching of reading and writing with the visual arts.  They love children's literature and expose its hold and lure on our minds whenever possible to enhance literacy. 

Across the top of the page, tabs call for exploration which I did for most of Sunday afternoon and early evening.  In fact, as I type here, it's all I can do to not babble incoherently about the depth and breadth of all the fantastic, stupendous resources at this site.  It's not just a visual feast; its an educator's literacy dream banquet.

The Features tab alone can keep one occupied for hours.  The sixteen features shown on this visual cut cover:  thirty-seven children's books with read aloud discussion lessons, multiple graphic organizers in thirty-seven categories, an amazing alphabetical visual vocabulary, a thirty-four themed writer's workshop, images to teach the use of high frequency words, visuals used to get writer's imaginations clicking, letters and their sounds, comprehension four by four (four images with a common theme and four text images from children's books, using visuals to practice for standardized tests, a series of essays, reviews and interviews to get those creative juices flowing, thirty-three themes containing ten titles reviewed to spark your interest, inspiration for literacy coaches, Pen & Ink comic strips to instruct in a variety of reading and writing concepts, graphics that promote and prompt literacy, twenty-two themed lists of web sites, and for the sheer joy of it---artwork of ten artists. 

Within the Themes tab are thirty-four issues; some of them are storytelling, reading habits, poetic science, mood, listening, less is more, economy of words and anticipation.  Each includes a variety of the aforementioned features revolving around that particular theme. 

Currently there are thirty-four individual titles highlighted under the Books tab.  This places in one spot all those books used under the Features tab The Art of Teaching Reading.

At this time Author Studies covers the works of five author/illustrators, again combining many of the sixteen features in one issue.  Authors included are Jon J. Muth, Shadra Strickland, Leo Lionni, Robert Burleigh and David Wiesner.

Please investigate all the information under the About tab; what it means to be a literacyhead, the site team which are a highly educated, dedicated, motivated group of individuals, their friends, social networks, great videos about Literacyhead.com on YouTube and a set of frequently asked questions. 

One more, as if all of the above were not like a slice of heaven, item of note is the My Literacyhead tab.  This gives each user the ability to design their own collection of items from one, some or all of the sixteen features.  What a great way to personalize the various aspects of this web phenomenon for use with a specific lesson or unit in the classroom!

PLEASE NOTE:  The cost of a Literacyhead subscription is going up on Tuesday September 27, 2011. 

For any readers that comment on this blog post by Friday, September 30, 2011, their names will be put in a random drawing for a free one year subscription to Literacyhead; a value of $99.00.  Please be sure to include your email address in the comment so I can contact you.
This is courtesy of Rachael Watkins, Assistant Editor on the Literacyhead team and my official welcomer as a new subscriber.

Literacyhead.com is not an additional tool for your literacy toolbox; it is the toolbox.  Read the interview at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast linked at the beginning of this post.  Explore the site and join me in bringing this into the classroom as the best that we can offer our children.  It's got a definite WOW factor.

Shrouded In Mystery

Back in March 2011 extremely intricate breathtaking paper sculptures began appearing in various places around and about  Edinburgh, Scotland.  These gifts are accompanied by a note that says they are left as a visual means of supporting libraries, books, words and ideas.  The latest appeared toward the end of August 2011.

There is nothing so magical as presents that come anonymously.  These are truly works of art from the heart.
Click on the link above to view 18 images of these paper sculptures.

Thanks to Booklist for the link to this site posted on their Facebook page.

Leaping Lizards

Not many author/illustrators can claim winning the esteemed Caldecott Award three times or the Caldecott Honor Award twice but David Wiesner can.  His newest picture book, Art & Max, is most assuredly headed in that direction. 

A small lizard runs pell mell across a desert landscape as the reader turns the first page...that's Max, a would-be artist.  He excitedly approaches a larger lizard, completely engrossed in his newest portrait...that's Arthur, Art as Max calls him, an artist of quite some talent.   Against his better judgment Arthur agrees to have Max paint beside him also replying to Max's question of what he should paint by saying, Well...you could paint me.  At this point the reader pauses thinking, Oh, Oh, because they already know Max and how his mind will interpret that phrase.

What follows is a kaleidoscopic, fantastical explosion of color as Art undergoes a transformation from one artistic medium to another via the offbeat leaps of Max's mind.  His reduction to a pile of stringy lines does not deter Max though.  He restores Arthur to his original self...well almost.  Not only does Arthur's physical self shift page by page but so does his perception of what art is and how to get there.

Weisner offers readers of Art & Max a chance to scamper through an adventure of unbridled curiosity, creativity and the sheer joy of discovery.  His characters' expressions mirror those found on the frog faces in Tuesday.  He challenges us to think along uncharted paths as he did in The Three Pigs, Flotsam and Sector 7.  He takes us to a world where we might not go as he did in Free Fall.  In a word...genius.

By linking to his web site shown in blue explore the creative process used in fashioning this book.  I am definitely going to be expanding my use of his books to a full-blown author study.