Encouraging the Artist in Your Child (Even If You Can't Draw): 101 Failure-Proof, Home-Tested Projects for Kids Age 2-10 [Paperback]

Sally Warner (Author), Claire Henze (Photographer)

Book Description

Series: Even If You Can't Draw: 101 Failure-Proof, Home-Tested Projects for Kids Age 2-10 | Publication Date: November 1989

You don't have to be an artist or a teacher to help your child discover the pleasure and challenge of making art. This clear, informative handbook features dozens of art projects designed for age group 2 to 5 and 6 to 10, that can be done at home with a minimum of parental supervision.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (November 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312033311
• ISBN-13: 978-0312033316
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,607,241 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

BIOGRAPHY OF SALLY WARNER

Sally Warner was born in New York City and grew up in Connecticut and California, where her family moved when she was eight years old. She attended public schools in Pasadena. She then received her B.A. degree from Scripps College in Claremont, California, and her B.F.A. and M.F.A. degrees in fine arts from Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles.

Sally Warner worked as an artist (primarily charcoal drawings) for many years, exhibiting her work at galleries, small museums, colleges, and universities across the country. Her drawings are in many private collections. She also taught art education for ten years at Pasadena City College. Her teaching led her to write her first non-fiction book for adults, ENCOURAGING THE ARTIST IN YOUR CHILD, in 1989. This book sold more than 20,000 copies. Another of her non-fiction books for adults, MAKING ROOM FOR MAKING ART (1994), is still in print and doing well.

Sally Warner then began writing fiction for young readers. Her first novel, DOG YEARS (1995), has almost 90,000 copies--in Italy! Sally Warner did the cartoons herself. IT'S ONLY TEMPORARY, another novel she has illustrated--with nearly 100 drawings---was published in 2008 and is for ages 8--12.

To date, Sally Warner has had 23 novels published, mostly for ages 8--12. One of her most popular books so far was SORT OF FOREVER (1998, still available through Scholastic Book Club), which has sold more than 220,000 copies! She also writes for younger readers, ages 7+; the books in her current funny series for Viking (ONLY EMMA, NOT-SO-WEIRD EMMA, SUPER EMMA, BEST FRIEND EMMA, and EXCELLENT EMMA) have been getting lots of positive attention. At least 3 ELLRAY JAKES books will be coming out in the next few years as well.

Sally Warner and her husband live in Southern California. She has four step-daughters, five step-grandchildren, and two sons who both have active careers in the arts: dance/choreography/teaching, and computer generated imagery for television and movies.

For photos, cartoons, and more information on her books: www.sallywarner.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, February 9, 2004

By 

Miss Tresninos "mistresninos" (SoCal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Encouraging the Artist in Your Child (Even If You Can't Draw): 101 Failure-Proof, Home-Tested Projects for Kids Age 2-10 (Paperback)

I sheepishly admit that I hardly glanced at this book when I purchased it. It was on the recommended reading list for the art program my son is using for homeschool and it was the only book on the list that was for his age/grade. I assumed it was just another reading book, so I was surprised, albeit pleasantly, when it arrived and I found it to have so many wonderful ideas and suggestions and projects inside.

As I read the book I find that she definitely knows children. The way she describes the ages of my boys is just about exactly where they are.

She encourages "free art" which is a great boost for my morale. I have always felt that children should be free to draw and paint and do art in anyway they see fit (although I am not as strict as she in regards to coloring books). My older relatives have tried unsuccessfully to "teach" my oldest son to do things their way and have not only failed, but created a tension between themselves and him.

I highly recommend this book. It will give you so many wonderful ways to spend the day with your children even if you do not homeschool.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars low printing quality, March 20, 2005

By 

M. Du (CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Encouraging the Artist in Your Child (Even If You Can't Draw): 101 Failure-Proof, Home-Tested Projects for Kids Age 2-10 (Paperback)

I bought the book after I read the positive reviews in Amazon. But I felt kind of shocking when I received the book. If I had bought it in China, I would have thought that it were a pirated copy. The printing quality is bad. Some of the words at the back of the book is half way cutoff. No color figures for any art examples and the black-and-white photos are so blur that they can hardly be recognized what was illustrated. I would accept it if it is a handout from an Art class, but not a book for over twenty dollars. As for the contents, I haven't read through it yet. I hope it is not as bad as it is "seen". It is unprofessionally printed/made.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars encouraging the artist in your child, January 13, 2001

By 

Isabelle Roberts (South Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Encouraging the Artist in Your Child (Even If You Can't Draw): 101 Failure-Proof, Home-Tested Projects for Kids Age 2-10 (Paperback)

This book is excellent for parents or teachers of young children. It gives easy instructions with illustrations for completing projects in the areas of drawing, painting,collage, yarn craft and sculpture. The book is divided into two sections: ages 2-5 years and 6-10 years. As a primary school teacher, and a mum of four children, I found the book to be an excellent resource for Art classes and general art activities for a fun session. The exercises range from very basic ideas to more complex projects and suit the different age groups well. I have used the book with children older than 10 years with similar success and personally have improved my artistic skills by tackling the projects with the children. The book also was useful as a stepping stone for other creative ideas. Anyone with no artistic talent or knowledge will find this book useful as well as the more experienced Art teacher looking for new ideas. I initially borrowed this book from the local libraray but found it to be such an invaluable resource that I wanted to buy my own copy.