Customer Reviews

Emily's Art

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, the talent illustrator's best work to date, with an outstanding story. Faced with an art competition, Emily learns how seeing the world through your own eyes is better than any prize. My pick for the Caldecott award!!! Get it while it's still in first printing!

EMILY'S ART is the story about Emily, a first-grade girl who loves to paint. There is a colorful aura of joy around Emily as she paints with her heart, and she radiates a soft, pink glow when she paints a watercolor picture of her friend, Kelly. When Emily's class participates in a school-wide art contest, Emily chooses to enter a picture of her dog, Thor, with great big ears, "Because Thor hears everything." When all the first-grade pictures are judged in the art contest, Emily is heart-broken to see her beloved picture of Thor passed over because the judge hates dogs. Fortunately, Emily's friend, Kelly, and her teacher, Ms. Fair, show Emily how much they care about her, and the story ends with a class party to celebrate all the beautiful pictures the children made.

What makes this picture book so very special is the way that every illustration of Emily shows how she feels in body posture, facial expression, and her human energy field. When Emily is happy, soft colors of light shine around her head and shoulders. When Emily is sad, her head droops forward and she becomes transparent as her aura disappears. Every picture of her aura is delightfully different -- my favorite is the one where she is showing her friend, Kelly, how to draw a dinosaur and lots of bright colors surround her head, back, and arm!

This is a gorgeous watercolor picture book that shows how feelings look in the human energy field. I give it my highest recommendation!

-- Cynthia Sue Larson

My 6 year old daughter had just experienced the kind of unjust judgement captured in this book a day before we serendipitously picked it up at the library. Emily becomes transparent after her work is rejected. My daughter totally connected with that feeling. And she also recognized the power of a friends' support that is portrayed in this book as well. Lovely. Art is great too.

There's a girl named Emily. She has a friend that loves her art. In the story there is an art contest. Will she win the contest? My name is Nisa when I read this I coudn't look away! I like this book because I really love art!

This book is fabulous.My children love it. It offers lots of chances to discuss feeling and how we feel about ourselves. We love the illustrations. We love this book

This was a wonderful book about not giving up on the things you enjoy because of what someone else thinks! Emily learns that one persons rock is the next mans diamond. What makes us different makes us special!
Our favorite book = Matthew A.B.C. - same author

Great story and beautiful illustrations. Teaches children about competition and that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" - no matter how inept the beholder may be. An asset for any child's book collection.

I absolutely love this book. The drawings are so beautiful. I read it to my daughter's first grade class. I think it teaches such a great lesson on subjectivity. It also literally illustrates how something brings us joy in life. This book really hit home with my daughter. She is an artist. I think any little artist will love this!

This is a beautiful book for elementary and primary grade art teachers. In this story, an art teacher steps forward to reinforce the value of a child's creativity. Unfortunately, she doesn't do it quickly enough to fend off the unfair criticism of an unenlightened judge.