{"id":24852,"date":"2014-09-22T22:00:58","date_gmt":"2014-09-23T02:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=24852"},"modified":"2014-09-22T22:00:58","modified_gmt":"2014-09-23T02:00:58","slug":"review-of-the-scraps-book-by-lois-ehlert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=24852","title":{"rendered":"Review of The Scraps Book, by Lois Ehlert"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"scraps_book_large\"<\/a>The Scraps Book<\/p>\n

Notes from a Colorful Life<\/em><\/p>\n

by Lois Ehlert<\/p>\n

Beach Lane Books, New York, 2014. 72 pages.
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

Lois Ehlert makes wonderful picture book art, including the classic which I bought for my oldest son and quickly became a favorite in our family, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

This book tells a bit about how art found Lois Ehlert since childhood and led to her satisfying career. I say \u201ca bit\u201d because this is a picture book. There\u2019s a little bit of text on each page, but mostly the book is made up of images.<\/p>\n

There are pictures of the author as a child with her parents. There is a picture of the folding table her father set up for her to do art. There is a picture of the pinking shears her mother used on fabric, which Lois still uses. And on almost every page, there are elements of art that went into her many different books. She shows her method of collage and has a word of encouragement for budding artists: \u201cIf you feel that way too, I hope you\u2019ll find a spot to work, and begin.\u201d<\/p>\n

The text is simple, with just a sentence or two of the main thread on each page, with the rest made up of many little notes about the art. The style reminds me of that in Feathers for Lunch<\/em>, since you can read it on a couple different levels \u2013 reading the overarching main text, or getting delightfully absorbed in the details.<\/p>\n

This book is fascinating for someone like me who has no desire to be an artist, in that it looks behind the scenes at the creation of some brilliant picture books. How much more inspiring I think it will be for kids who are interested in doing art. <\/p>\n

KIDS.SimonandSchuster.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Nonfiction\/scraps_book.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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