Customer Reviews

Growing Up Well - Squiggles, Dots and Lines: A Kid's Video Guide to Drawing and Creativity Featuring Illustrator Ed Emberley

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

 

 

We bought this as a Chirstmas present for our 4 and 6 yr. olds and they love it. It has really helped them feel more confident in their drawing and creativity. They have been able to apply many of the concepts presented to their own art work. I would recommend this to any parent.

This tape is really good for the begginer. It's well filmed and easy to understand. My parents bought it for me for Christmas and it's helped me a lot. I also recommend all of Mark Kistler's books and tapes and a cute book that can inspire any young artist (The Butterfly by Singh). I got many other presents, but these were the best.

I'm mystified by the positive reviews here. I borrowed this at the library, and I'm glad I am glad I didn't pay $10 for it. The fact that it was 1980s and bad child acting with bad music did not really bother my child, because he does not watch any TV so any video is a treat, but 80% of the video is introduction and fluff and the substance (the alphabet of drawing) when they finally get to it, is rushed. It would have been better to develop the alphabet over a few lessons with lots of examples, but that might have taken more than 20 minutes. Clearly the video was made back when video production was still expensive and they obviously had a very tight budget. Doubtless there are hours of better instruction online now, some appropriate for kids, and I aim to find some of it. Bottom line: library item as long as you don't have high expectations.

Ed Emberley, in this video and his books, offers children and the adults in their lives a way to think about what they see: a visual language akin to Christopher Alexander's Pattern Language yet on a basic, easy to grasp level. Referred to as a drawing alphabet, viewers are introduced to the basic shapes (squiggles, dots, and lines) surrounding us, waiting for us to see them and create with them. If the video had just a little less music aimed at very small children I'd recommend it to adults interested in drawing more impactful images on whiteboards during meetings. At every age we benefit from being able to make a doodle and grow an idea out of it.

Very good video for teaching very basic drawing skills, (perfect for very young grades).
Commercial before the video begins is too long and needs to be fast forwarded if this video is shown in a classroom.

Ed Emberley presents his 9 item drawing alphabet that any child can use to make better drawings. Emberley is a Caldecott winner. This video was selected as one of the top six children's videos of the year by Parents' Choice/Good Morning America. A top-10 by Billboard. Ed Emberley also created books presenting the drawing alphabet (dots, lines & shapes) but this video is enthralling to elementary age children. Nothing like a video to teach visual arts.

A VHS copy was used about 15 years in my elementary art classroom with grand results. Children watch, listen, and learn to use basic shapes to enhance their drawing skills. They enjoy seeing children of their own age using the alphabet. Kids drawing a detailed pirate ship during the video is inspirational to any age.

A perfect gift for budding young artists. A gift for the art teacher. This is entertainment and arts education packed into a child-friendly 25-minute length. This fundamental art lesson will never be out of date educationally.

WARNING (with a smile): Have paper and drawing/painting supplies handy--they WILL be desired after the viewing.

my mother must have bought this tape for my brother and i in the early 90's. we were both around eight or nine at the time. to this day i recall the theme song melody.

a great thing about this film is the way that it inspires children to draw regardless of their age or skill level. if i recall correctly, illustrations as simple as dots representing ants are animated and provided a story. the way which ed emberley expresses the ability to enstill life within the most basic of drawings is great for children with imagination and a desire to draw.

if i were to watch this film now i'm positive that it would provide a wonderful sense of nostalgia. over the years i watched it again and again. moving from apartments to apartments to houses. it truly became a part of my childhood. and i have to admit that as a child who loved music the theme song was always one of my favorite parts of the film.