lately i’ve been craving all things creative. be it a photography project, art project, cooking project, spray-paint project, sewing project, design project, well you get the picture. pretty much if i can label it as ‘creative,’ i do. so this week’s book fits into this theme perfectly. i love this book (are you surprised?) it flows along with a basic concept i have always believed. and that is this :
that everyone is inherently creative.
did you hear that? EVERYONE was born a creative individual. personally, i believe it is squelched when we are youngsters until we grow up into fine young adults who believe we don’t have a creative bone in our bodies. i am repressing the urge to run off and grab my soap box to give you a long dissertation on the subject. but instead of torturing you into a mind-numbing stupor, i’m going to recommend you read this book to your kids and encourage them to express themselves creatively. this way we won’t end up with another generation of individuals who lack the ability to think outside the box…
the dot . by peter h. reynolds
reynold’s illustrations are whimsical and fun. at the beginning of the book, the main character believes she can’t draw, so her art teacher challenges her to make her mark…even if it is in the form of a dot. it is then autographed, framed and displayed proudly on the wall of her classroom…owen of course had to make his own mark. since he can’t sign his name yet, he autographed his dot with an ‘o.’ his dot now adorns our fridge. 🙂
since i like to try to transform each littlest bookshelf book into a tiny form of reality, i thought it would be fun to make our own gallery of dots…we started with paints and a paint brush, moved on to fingers, and ended up in full-fledged hand painting (of course).
needless to say the ‘dot’ gallery i had in mind didn’t happen. we did end up with some fun artwork and a good time though and that’s what it’s all about!
stacey - i totally agree! that is my biggest pet peeve! i make absolutely sure NEVER to tell my boys how to create. what is right and what is wrong is only a perception. i even make sure not to tell him he has to color inside the lines 🙂
barbara - I’ve always loved that book too. Creativity is easily squelched because of not enough time for art in classrooms or children are led to believe by classmates or instructors that there is a “wrong way” and a “right way”. Some are eager to please their teacher or parent when the comment is, ‘Oh, what color is the sky–well of course it’s blue…not purple as you’ve painted it!’