Paint Me a Picture & Tell Me a Story by Emily Bannister

Paint Me a Picture: A Colorful Book of Art Inspiration
Author: Emily Bannister
Illustrator: Holly Hatam
Published by Kane Miller EDC Publishing

Tell Me a Story: An Inspirational Book for Creative Writers
Author: Emily Bannister
Illustrator: Barbara Chotiner
Published by Kane Miller EDC Publishing

Summary: Paint Me a Picture equates color to mood, getting children thinking about the way they see and feel our colorful world.

Tell Me a Story lets children know that their words are important, that no matter the form, their stories are meaningful.

With simple rhyming text and accessible art, this book is a springboard for drawing and sharing stories, giving color to emotions, and kids permission to do, create, show and tell.

It delightfully, poetically, celebrates the joy and imagination in art in all its forms and inspires the storyteller in everyone.

Review: I love books that help students feel like they are artists, writers, or thinkers. I think creativity is such an important part of childhood and too often we are pushing kids to grow up too quickly and not learn how to be creative or we’re pushing kids to fit into a certain box instead of letting them think outside of the box. These books help kids see the joy in writing and creating. They celebrate creative thinking and writing and the colors of our world. They show how you can combine color and words to create something that others will want to read and see. 

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Sometimes all a student needs is inspiration to create a story or piece of art work. These texts are those inspiration. They help students know that their story means something. That their words are something someone wants to read. That color can mean something. That their color choices when making artwork make a difference but that all colors are beautiful.

Discussion Questions: If you wanted to draw a picture that symbolizes sadness/happiness/laughter/anger, etc., what color would you use? What would you draw?; What is your favorite color? What does it symbolize to you?; To write a story, you first need to start with an idea, a place, or a thing. What would you write a story about?

Flagged Passages: 

Read This If You Loved: What Do You See? by Kyla Ryman, The Amazing Crafty Cat by Charise Mericle Harper, A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers, The Museum by Susan Verde, My Life in Pictures by Deborah Zemke, Doodle Adventures by Mike Lowery, My Pen by Christopher Myers, Mix it Up! by Hervé Tullet, Sky Color by Peter H. Reynolds, Art by Patrick McDonnell, Not a Box by Antoinette Portis, Seen Art? by Jon Scieszka, The Cat and the Bird by Geraldine Elschner

Recommended For:

 

**Thank you to Lynn at Kane Miller for providing copies for review!!**