For the Love of Art & Books: Reluctant Artists

I’m the little girl who grew up thinking that she was no good at art. I used to dread art and craft class, and my art grade was never good. I distinctly remember getting teased for my abstract shapes and I never enjoyed just copying a picture.

Recently I started reading a book called “The Art Book for Children” by Phaidon. Inspired, I started to read more about different artists. I realize now that there are no rules in art, and that, it is a form of expression. So here I am trying to make up for lost time in my artistic journey.

Here is a list of books to encourage all the budding artists and reluctant artist out there –

Toddlers -

1. Mix It Up by Herve Tullet – An interactive book to teach kids the basics of colours and colour mixing. Its great for smaller kids who are discovering colours.

2. Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg – Such a great book that shows you its fine to make mistakes and that you can always make masterpieces out of them. A fun, engaging, interactive book that will have you smiling all the way till the end!

Small Kids – Beginning Readers

3. A Little Bit of Oomph! by Barney Saltzberg - This a very similar to “Beautiful Oops’. Its interactive and engaging. It also pushes kids to get a little bit extra into their art, a little bit ‘oomph’ to make it beautiful.

4. Ish by Peter H Reynolds _ I totally relate to this book, about other kids judging your art. Maybe all we need is to start making ‘ish’ish drawing and never look back 😊

5. The Dot by Peter H Reynolds – A lovely story about how a teacher encourages a little girl to keep drawing by giving the right nudge.

6. I am an Artist by Marta Altes – A funny book where a boy sees art all around him. He creates a grand master piece while exploring movement, textures and colour, much to his mother’s dismay. This book will have the kids see art everywhere

7. The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt- Duncan gets a shock when he opens his crayon box on day. The crayons are unhappy. Blue is exhausted after colouring the lakes and seas, yellow and orange get into an argument on what the colour of the sun is, beige is tired of being overlooked. Beautifully illustrated by Oliver Jeffers, with letters from the crayons, this is a wonderful way of getting kids to think creatively.

8. Louise Loves Art by Kelly Light – is such a sweet picture book of Louise who is annoyed with her little brother Art for spoiling her masterpiece. But she takes a closer look and sees the paper chains her brother has created. Don’t miss the cat’s expressions, they are hilarious. Don't forget to make paper chain dolls together.

9. Blue Chicken by Deborah Freedman – This is a story about a chicken who accidentally spills blue paint all over the farm and the animals. It also is a great way to introduce kids to watercolours in a fun way. Add some markers to doodle.

Bigger kids – Fluent readers

10. Marianthe's Story: Painted Words by Aliki – I love this book. It is about a Greek little girl called Marianthe, who comes to a new school in the United States. She doesn’t understand English and finds it hard to communicate with the other kids. She slowly starts painting her words and shares her story. Art speaks across borders and cultures. Fascinating read.

Want to know more? Found this lovely list from kitchentableclassrooms.com for books on texture, line, shape, form and colour.