art – One Chapter

Cat Nap by Brian Lies

5 stars Children’s Picture Book

I think this book is great for older elementary readers but for younger readers, I think it needs to be explained to them. My 3-year-old grandson picked it out as it had a cat on the cover and well, it was a bit slow for him. I added a few words here and there as we read, relying on the illustrations to tell the story, so he did enjoy the story by the time we got to the end of the book.

Mouse wants to remain undetected as he slips into the painting on the wall, but Cat sees him and follows. Yes, they both go into the painting.

Going into the painting, they come out on the other side of the wall, into another piece of art. This art is a limestone carving which they end up destroying. This artwork is supposed to be carved but somehow the cat, the mouse, and the rats which are in the carving have knocked the items in the carving down. The chase is on!

Cat continues to chase mouse everywhere! Cat ends up having a conversation with a clay dog, an ornamental mask, and multiple pictures.

Cat is on the prowl. Does he ever catch the mouse? Will he ever get back home?

I enjoyed the concept that the author had with this book. Altering items that the cat and mouse encountered in the book was very entertaining and creative. I appreciate the author’s notes at the end of the book as he shows the reader how he made the art to complete this book. Sure, he could have relied on AI or computer images but as the author notes, “where’s the satisfaction in that?” The author goes on to say that if you like to make things, keep practicing. Use your imagination to create an idea and then take the time developing the skills to create what you want. “You can make pretty much anything you want to, if you teach yourself how.” There’s also information on the actual art pieces that the author used in his book.

Interesting concepts and a book that should be appreciated for what it does.

Blue Sky White Clouds: A Book for Memory-Challenged Adults

5 stars Adult/Children

I liked this book. I loved the variety of pictures and how clear and crisp the pictures were. Each page in this book sports a big photograph and underneath the photograph is a small sentence stating what the picture is. Examples include:

“Seagulls play in the water. ““Pretty pink and white flowers.” “A blue bicycle by the beach.” “Dad swims with his son.”

There are a variety of diverse individuals inside this book. The sentences are short and descriptive. The pages are numbered too. I would like to see more pictures in the future but this is a good start. Overall, a great book and hope there are going to be more of these books in the future. 5 stars

There’s a Ghost in This House by Oliver Jeffers

Oliver does it again! I never know what to expect from Oliver but this time, he really knocked it out of the park. I loved this book! There is a ghost in this house, actually there are a lot of ghosts!!

One page one, we’re invited inside the central hall of a house that was built in 1760l. With a yellow and gray striped dress on, she’s there to welcome us. We’ll just try to ignore that she has green hair and her skin matches her hair. She wants our help. She’s heard about a ghost in the house and she can’t find it. She’s not quite sure what she’s looking for but she’s already looked, can we help her?

Turning the pages of the book, we search different parts of the house. I love how this book is put together! As you open up the book and have two-page spread in front of you, one page will have the text to read and one page will have the illustration. The illustration features a specific part of the house in shades of brown and white. Using minimal words, this text carries the same mysterious elements with it as the house. In the center, of most (but not all) of these two pages is a sheet or two of hard plastic transparent paper. How you read this book, is up to you, for I read it a variety of ways.

This is the clever, entertaining book!! Oliver did an outstanding job constructing his book as these sheets added so much to this story. Such talent and exceptional craftsmanship is illustrated with this gem of a book! . 10 stars!!

Oh No, George! By Chris Haughton

I think everyone, children and adults, can relate to George. He has the best intentions but sometimes, he just can’t resist going against them. This was a funny story and George’s expressions and eyes captured my attention on each page and just knowing some background information about dogs made the story more entertaining.

George lives with Harry and George told Harry he would be very good as Harry is headed out the door. Left alone, Harry hopes he’ll be good but eyeing that big cake sitting on the kitchen counter is just too much for George. Oh, George thinks about what he told Harry but he knows how he feels about cake and “What will George do?” Yep! I hope Harry didn’t have special plans for that cake. As I walked along with George in the house, I heard about all the other things that George loved in the house (all the other temptations that were lingering in the house for him) and how George actually managed being home by himself.

I loved the excitement on George’s face when Harry returns! You could feel the love and enthusiasm. As Harry made his way around the house with George right beside him, the look on both of their faces, priceless. The rest of the story is cute and George tries so hard as he loves Harry so much. A cute story with bright simple illustrations. 4.5 stars

Rock Art! Painting and Crafting with the Humble Pebble by Denise Scicluna

The cover of this book caught my eye at the library so I picked it up and brought it home. I love the idea of painting rocks and leaving them for others to find. I think this would be a great activity to do over the winter and then leave them when the weather starts turning nice in the spring. This book covers a lot of different ideas from animals, mandalas, portraits, monsters, hearts, mice, butterflies, trucks, feathers fish, lines, funny faces, sea things, fruit, ABC’s, balloons and even pets. I liked that the book shows you step-by-step instructions on how to make each of the rocks. and what you will need to make them. Each of the ideas is presented in a two-page spread.

There is also a section of how to find rocks, what you will need to paint them, how to make your own clay rock, how to even help shape up the rocks that you found, how to use the rocks that you have created, and there is a nice index in the back. If I look at one idea of this book, the pets: I see I can make the 3D animals and it shows the step-by-step directions for the hedgehog. The page also shows illustrations for a lion, a bunny, and a sleeping cat. These really are 3D as you painting the whole rock.

I see that Denise has some other rock painting books available that I’m going to try to hunt down as now, I have some great ideas and I want more! I’ve bought a bag of stone rocks at the garden center so I think I’m on my way to decorating some rocks when the time comes. This is a fun, detailed book and I’m glad that I stubbled across it!

Outside Art by Madeline Kloepper

Art is in the eye of the beholder. I remember hearing this when I was young and finally, someone explained this simple, complex statement to me. It has stuck with me ever since because it says so much with such few words. These are the words that came to mind when I read this book. Everyone makes art in their own way. A baby can make art and so can a senior citizen. It’s in its interpretation, that we label things art.

As Pine Martin watches the Human inside and outside its log nest in the woods, doing odd things, Pine Marten tries to find the meaning behind them. I enjoyed Pine Marten’s view of the human world: “plucking the string-log to make noise” and “using mud to make a water holder” to refer to the playing of a guitar and to using a clay pottery wheel. It was a refreshing way to look upon the world that we live in. When he watches the Human “putting colors on a board using a furry stick,” he’s confused.

Chickadee explains what he has heard the Human is doing and how it refers to Art and he explains what he thinks Art is. Soon, a variety of animals arrive one-by-one to give their own opinion of what Art is and how it relates to the Human’s activity. I thought this was clever and I liked how the house cat got in on the action and tried to outsmart them all. I said tried……. Is the Human the only one who can create Art?

The illustrations are beautiful and creative a peaceful feeling to the book. There are many interesting ideas that come out of this book and ways that you can engage children using this book. I think this book is good for children beginning around 6 years of age based on the concept, content, and language. I really enjoyed it.

Maker Lab: 28 Super Cool Projects by Smithsonian Foreword by Jack Andraka

This book got me excited for doing science experiments at home, I just need my granddaughter and we would be off! I liked how this book is set up with 4 different sections: a food section, a water and outside section, and then, experiments for around the home. By looking at the instructions, they’re not limited to those specific areas but I think it helps that they’re grouped. There are at least 6 experiments in each section and most of the items that you’ll need, are items that you should have somewhere close by.

Each experiment is laid out with numbered step-by-step instructions with illustrations for each step. But, that is not all, no…. there is an explanation on why this experiment works, which is the important thing. It’s fun to make experiments but it’s even better, if they work. There’s also a difficulty level meter and an estimated time (in minutes) on how long each experiment should take. I love how there are tidbits of information included in each experiment because it’s also fun to learn something neat and interesting while you’re being a scientist, as you never know when you might need to know this information later.

Some experiments are ones that we have done before (like the erupting volcano, sticky slime, dancing snake (although ours was a bit different)), there are some that look very interesting. Sugar lollipops, kaleidoscope, rocket car, stalactites, orbs, and a few others. There’s a glossary and an index at the back of the book to help navigate within the book. And yes, I also thought a few of the experiments, I wouldn’t even attempt. I just had no desire to do them.

From personal experience, I have to say that there are a few experiments that are geared for the younger crowd. These experiments would be ones that can be accomplished quickly, results can be seen rapidly, and they can be explained without much difficulty. That being said, there are some that look time-consuming (not necessarily difficult), the results might take a few days to accomplish, and the reasoning behind why they work, might be more involved. The majority of the experiments, I feel fall in the middle. DK produced another great book that will provide hours of fun and education and will spark the minds of our future generation. 4.5 stars

A Ghostly Good Time: The Family Halloween Handbook by Woman’s Day Special Interest Publications

I liked how this book has a little bit of everything in it. From recipes to make, to costumes to throw together, to decorations for your little part of the world, this book is Halloween DIY. You can be a beginner or an intermediate DIY individual to be successful as the author helps you with great directions.

When I first picked this book up, I was looking for a couple easy crafts to make and after looking through it, my list of Halloween items is long. I started out just flipping through it and stopped. I decided to go page-by-page, writing ideas and instructions down, so I knew what to do later.

There are a few items that I’ve seen done already and that’s fine. There are also a few ideas that were way out of my league but hey, they’re cool ideas if you have that talent. I liked the paper witches. Tracing them, you enlarge them (as big as you want) and put them on kraft paper and place them in your window with tape. (They supply you with 3 witches on graph paper at the bottom of the page). The Unwelcome mat was fun too along with the Boo and Beware mirrors but I don’t think I’ll be making them but they look super easy to make. The costume section was really cute and clever. The crow and swamp girl were my favorites. I liked that they made using simple, cheap items that you’d be able to find and not something that you’d have to spend a lot of money on, tear it up and then get creative. The recipe section had some fun and festive ideas and if I wanted to get creative, I could make the Haunted Cookie House. I’m sure my granddaughter would love to help me. It’s mostly snacks and goodies here except for some stew, bread, and a Sand-Witch. Put that Sand-Witch in someone’s lunch and see what they have to say. Lots of fun, I say.

I liked the hand & spider cutouts and I am planning on using them on a few pumpkins this year. They work the same exact way as the paper witches, only you trace them on a pumpkin and a hand is illuminated. There are lots of other fun ideas on carving pumpkins too. As far as the crafts, which is what I got the book for, I only found one that looked promising to me. There were no directions for it, as it was used as a prop but I think I can make it. There were some recipes that caught my eye especially the cookies and the cupcakes.

This is a super cute Halloween book that I’m sure you will find something inside to try. Could I get these ideas from a magazine? Sure, probably but I like how this book is set up and it’s all put together for me. Like I mentioned before, you can try something easy like the pumpkin carving or go extreme and attempt the Colorful Cushions. Did I mention the bird skeleton in the antique bird cage? Great book to find some neat ideas.

https://books.google.com/books?id=KBQLTKEnoFgC&pg=PP1&lpg=PP1&dq=A+Ghostly+Good+Time:+The+Family+Halloween+Handbook&source=bl&ots=5OqwiDjnDR&sig=ACfU3U3B40BjY4avE4KnI5zskAnLvO-axQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiZ7_as5dPkAhXQJjQIHVd8DvoQ6AEwEHoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=A%20Ghostly%20Good%20Time%3A%20The%20Family%20Halloween%20Handbook&f=false

Link to some pages in the book