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SKU:35558667
This modern classic celebrates the individuality in all of us and the joy of artistic expression.Tommy knows he wants to be an artist when he grows up. He can't wait to get to school and have real art lessons. When Tommy gets to school and finds out that the art lessons are full of "rules", he is surprised and dismayed. How the wise art teacher finds a way to give Tommy the freedom to create and stay within the "rules" makes a wonderfully perceptive picture book about growing up and keeping one's individuality.Tomie dePaola is the author and illustrator of many beloved books for children, including the Caldecott Honor Book Strega Nona. Fans of all ages will be pleased to hear that The Art Lesson is, in fact, based on the artist's own experiences growing up, and offers a welcome glimpse into his past. This bright picture book is as covered with drawings as the walls of Tommy's parents' and grandparents' houses, and sends an inspirational message to budding artists and individualists. Break out the crayons!
I ordered a copy of Tomie dePaula's The Art Lesson after my seven-year-old daughter raved about him after her teacher read one of his books in class. When the book arrived and I surprised my daughter with it, she hugged me with the strength of Thor because I had given her a book from her favorite author. We sat down and read The Art Lesson together several times, but what was so exciting was that my daughter pointed out how the story reflected the childhood of the author.Upon closer examination, I recognized that this was a golden opportunity to use this book to teach author's craft and purpose. I decided to use this book to introduce this skill to a middle school ESL class. Initially, I was afraid that they would be insulted that I was using a children's book with them. However, I was pleasantly surprise: many of them had read it in Spanish in their home country, so they possessed background knowledge. Since they had prior knowledge, I was able to expand upon it by introducing how the author crafted the book using specific writing strategies and that his purpose was to reflect his childhood awakening to a life as a writer and artist.I would definitely recommend this book as a high interest, literacy-enriched text for children; it also is an extraordinary resource for teaching challenging skills such as author's craft and purpose.
