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The Scraps Book: Notes From a Colorful Life by Lois Ehlert

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Biography

Release Date: 3/4/2014

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About the Book: Award winning illustrator Lois Ehlert always knew she was meant to be an artist. She explains her artistic and creative process through her famous collage illustrations.

GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I love biographies that I can give to the youngest of readers and The Scraps Book is my new perfect go to suggestion. Part biography, part instruction, and part inspiration, Lois Ehlert uses her art to tell readers why she became an artist and how she completes her work.

The first part of the book is about Ms. Ehlert's childhood and growing up in a creative home with a family that encouraged her artistic ability. She includes photos and talks about where she first created her art.

The second half of the book, and what takes up most of this short collection, is all about Ms. Ehlert's inspiration for her books. Where does she get her ideas for her stories? How did she create the pictures for her various books? Each page shows examples of her work and gives readers information on how the illustrations were created and how the stories came to be.

The entire book is organized like a scrap book and it's obviously very lovingly put together. It feels as though you're getting an intimate peek into Ms. Ehlert's life and it's absolutely enchanting. There's the main text on each page that is simple and honest. Each page is a collage of thoughts, ideas, and comments that come together in a creative way to create a unique biography that is in encouraging. After reading The Scraps Book, I wanted to pull out a bunch of paper and create my own beautiful collage!

I would love to use this as a jumping point for an art program at my library and I can see this book being used in many classrooms to discuss art styles. It's an excellent biography and art book combined and I can't wait to share it with readers at my library.


Comments

  1. I just requested this from my library for my 9 year old daughter. Thank you for the recommendation! ~Sheri

    ReplyDelete

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