Today’s guest blogger is Emily Townsend, an Elementary School Counselor at Lowrie Primary School in Wilsonville, Oregon.
Last year I worked daily with a fourth grade student whose father passed away right before Christmas break. He grieved mostly internally, and became increasingly distant, disengaged, and behind in school.
After feeling like I had tried almost all the tools in my toolbox, I remember setting a velvet poster in front of him – one of the Melissa & Doug Sea Life Reveal posters I purchased from First Book.
I think I was hoping for a calm moment when we could both color and just spend some no-pressure time together being mindful. Although this student had never mentioned any affinity or affection for art, as soon as he picked up the markers to begin filling in the poster he started talking about his father and his feelings for the first time ever at school.
He and I made paper airplanes, learned how to draw jungle animals using the Kids Art Series: How to Draw book I ordered from First Book, and made intricate tangles of doodles while looking at the Draw What! Doodling Book I received in the same order. And he talked. And eventually started feeling better.
The post How Arts & Crafts Created a Space to Talk and Heal appeared first on First Book Blog.
My favorite picture book artist, Oliver Jeffers, (I own all his books... and have no kids) put out a new book in January, called The Great Paper Caper. It's the story of a tree shortage in a forest that is ultimately accredited to a well-meaning but competitive grizzly-lookin' bear who just wanted to win the annual paper airplane contest. Perfectly illustrated, as always (Jeffers is also a working artist, whose paintings toy with the relationship between text and image-- swoon) the story utilizes a lot of great detective/police procedural vocabulary, not to mention to obvious conservation themes. And like The Incredible Book Eating Boy (also by Jeffers, winner of the Irish Children's Book Award) there are lots of clever little details in the backgrounds of the illustrations, though Incredible Book Eating Boy does not have anything quite like a pig making bacon as his alibi. Better for kids who are willing to have vocab words explained to them, this story did not do particularly well at my toddler-laden storytime. But nonetheless, I recommend it all the time, for ages 4 and 5 and up.
An Illustration from The Great Paper Caper
The Witness, a painting by Oliver Jeffers
I have always been fascinated with the lovely homes in San Francisco. The tall apartments with their many windows present so many possibilities for invention.
me too! wonderful idea and beautiful colors ginger!
wow how beautifully drawn! I'm in awe!
wonderful! i love this :)
Nice work especially the architecture! Love those buildings!
This is terrific! What a fun concept.
Love the paper airplanes!
I like this Ginger. It has a very retro feel to it!
How fun Ginger! They are all so busy! Really love those paper airplanes! I haven't made one in years. You always have the best and most original ideas. Just incredible.
Uuuh...love the pic....love the childhood moment....
wonderful illo - has such a whimsical feel
lovely piece, paper airplanes are perfect for 'fleeting.'
San Francisco really does have beautiful houses I always love the long steps up to the front doors.
How fun! I'd love to stop by a neighborhood like this and join in the fun!
Thanks for all the supportive comments. These houses in SF are normally found in the Hispanic district. I have always found the architecture of this style row house to be dramatic and appealing.
The other favorite homes I have seen are in Pacific Heights. That is where the steps seem to go on forever. Sort of reminds me of a "stairway to heaven."
Wonderful drawing and concept! SF does have some pretty magnificent houses.
I love the fleeting paper planes :)
Side note: I was just reading online this morning that the unemployment rate is pretty low in Portsmouth, NH. It was one of the top ten places with lowest unemployment. I know you're in P'borough, but still :)