March 1, 2022
Preschool-Grade 1 Nature, personified, leads young explorers through a day of rambling and creative play in a vibrant, cheerful story extolling the ease and joys of artistic adventure. Five rosy-cheeked children depicted in a range of skin tones follow a yeti-like, chartreuse-and-jade Nature as it shows the group that merely by observing the outdoors for inspiration they "can all be artists." The oversize leader "paints a scene-- / hills against the sunrise, / gold and rose and green," "makes a fine collage" of summer flowers, and molds the earth over time with its wind and rain. In turn, the children enthusiastically fingerpaint bumblebees, paste paper masterpieces, sculpt towering sandcastles, and more. Lavallee captures the making process in a rhythmic cadence with compelling action verbs like dab, etches, and splashed. Energetic illustrations in lively hues vary in texture and style while referencing both the children's artistic efforts and their environmental inspiration. A solid debut suited to early elementary classrooms, outdoor programs, and caregivers seeking approachable craft inspiration.
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July 11, 2022
When seeking artistic inspiration—in terms of both medium and subject matter—this picture book’s creators suggest that readers look no further than Nature itself: “We can all be artists./ Nature shows us how./ So many styles to choose from—/ let’s get started now.” Paired with Lavallee’s cheery rhyming prose, Colombo’s exuberant multitextured art imagines Nature as a green, slightly bushy biomorphic artist with a benevolent facial expression. As Nature works on the world’s varied landscapes—painting, sculpting, and etching—doll-like human children with arrayed skin tones happily tag along to learn, translating what they see via their own materials. When Nature paints “hills against the sunrise/ gold and rose and green,” the kids finger-paint “thumb-print bees/ and shaggy trees”; when Nature scatters leaves on the ground, they approximate the effect with collage. It’s a sweet-natured tribute to both classroom-scaled creativity and the grandeur of the outdoors. Ages 3–8.