Touring Picture Book: Dinosaurs Don't Draw
We had such fun last month when we teamed up with fellow book bloggers - Acorn Books, Along Came Poppy and Mamma Filz - for the very first touring picture book club blog post! We loved seeing the activities that they paired with the book and I'm really excited to see what they have come up with this month! Without further ado, this month's book is...
Dinosaurs Don't Draw by Elli Woolland and Steven Lenton
So often when I share books with you I tell you what the story is about first. But today I'm going to share first of all how awesome the illustrations in this book are. The story is about a dinosaur artist so the pictures are incredibly important and Steven Lenton has done a marvelous job bringing the characters and their adventures to life. The main little dinosaur, Picasaur, is just adorable and his family of triceratops are friendly despite their anti-drawing mentality (I just love the dad's eyebrows - they have a life of their own!) and his cousins and friends are a variety of multi-coloured delights (much like a bag of skittles!). But brilliantly, when Picasaur draws on rocks, caves, and stones, his illustrations stand out from the rest. They look spectacular and don't for one second blend into the story. And through this you get a feel for the different art supplies that Picasaur uses and his own creative flair. The illustrations make this story for me!
But what's it about I hear you ask? It's the story of Picasaur who comes across a small piece of chalk and is destined to create. But his parents are not impressed. Dinosaurs stomp. Dinosaurs roar. Dinosaurs do not draw. Picasaur can't resist the urge to create and when he crosses path with anything that resembles paint, chalk or drawing material he creates his own dino-graffiti! But when a nasty T-Rex comes prowling, Picasaur's drawings save the day by scary away the T-Rex with a dinosaur even more fearsome. Written in rhyme, this story really is a wonder to read aloud! And I love that it celebrates creativity!
Now I'm no artist. And BookBairn enjoys creating but her skills are still in their early stages. So I wanted to show her she could create something fun and simple and enjoy the success of her work. There is a huge push on celebrating the process of children's artwork without bothering too much about the final product, and I'm all for that, but it's kind of nice to have something that looks attractive to stick up on the wall. And when I spotted the endpapers in this book I was immediately inspired to create our own large scale version.
We've never tried potato printing before, mostly because I thought it would be tricky and fiddly to cut the potatoes into a sensible shape but it turns out dinosaur feet (paws, hooves, claws?) are really easy. Just cut a few tiny triangles out at the top, or if you're not that ambitious go for diplodocus feet and you don't have to do anything more than cut them in half. And get a big roll of paper and let them stamp away. BookBairn loved it! And she loved seeing the different prints she created. Such a fun and simple set up - and no brushes to wash afterwards - just pop those potatoes in the compost bin! That's a mum win if ever I knew one!
Check out the other activities happening across the Touring Picture Book Club and pop over to Mamma Filz's Twitter to be in with a chance of winning a copy of this awesome book!
Acorn Books - ideas to encourage reluctant artists
Along Came Poppy - get messy with dino foot prints
Mamma Filz - retelling and acting the story with a small world
And look out for our next touring picture book - "The Girls" by Lauren Ace and illustrated by Jenny Lovlie.
And if you've popped over from one of the other fabulous blogs - hello! And our regular readers - hello to you too!
Happy Reading and Sorting,
Mummy, BookBairn and the Touring Picture Book Team!
Disclaimer: all four bloggers were sent copies of the book, and we were provided with giveaway copies, after we reached out to the publisher and requested them. Words and opinions are each of our own.
Aaaa I used to love doing potato art with my kids. You could always come up with your own dinosaur prints, make up a new found dinosaur! #readwithme
ReplyDeleteHaha! Yes - the BookBairnasaurus! Great idea!
Deleteoooh potato printing, I've not done that in ages. I love the dino prints, how fab. It sounds like such a good book too.
ReplyDeleteThanks - such a fun activity!
DeleteThose are absolutely gorgeous endpapers and I love your potato printing activity to recreate the footprints :)
ReplyDelete#ReadWithMe
Thanks - you know me - I love an endpaper!
DeleteLove a lot about your post - the celebration of illustrations which always add so much to children's books and sometimes adult ones too. The teamwork of the tour. The story itself which seems to celebrate creativity and the right to be an individual so right up my street! #ReadWithMe
ReplyDeleteThanks Kate - what a kind comment - you've given me a lovely boost today!
DeleteNo shortage of potatoes where BookBain lives. Happy tattie stamping.
ReplyDeleteThis is true! And carrots!
DeleteThe potato prints look fab and this sounds like a lovely story. I'm sure my dinosaur-loving nephew would enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteHe sure would! It's so fun!
DeleteProving that dinosaurs aren't just for boys - love it #KLTR
ReplyDeleteI have to admit I've never done potato printing either as i always think it will be too fiddly. Book Bairn looks like she is having such a good time! #Readwithme #KLTR
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun activity! I'd love to add this to my roundup of fun Dinosaur Crafts. Do let me know if you'd be interested. I like that you used potatoes to make the stamps. Cool! Thanks for linking up to #KLTR. This post is awesome.
ReplyDeleteI think you've done some great footprints there out of potatoes and book bairn looks like she's really enjoyed it too. #KLTR
ReplyDelete