Hands

If you use Ehlert books teaching, and I really do with my 1st grade, you catch on to the fact that in some way, through collage or some 3-D method, her books are constructed. And constructed of many, many luscious things found in her world. Glued, painted, layered. They take the child to snowpeople, gardens, soup, butterflies, flowers, squirrels, trees, forests. And these books are interactive too, suggesting also something the child might go do on finishing them like make soup, design a snowman, create a picture, cut flowers, raise butterflies, plant seeds, grow a garden. It's this aspect of her books that is the nicest. It gets you going. "Hands" is a small book dedicated to her mother and father telling of, and showing how, his tools and carpentry, and her mother's making, led her into active creating from the "stuff" around her. It is an ideal introduction or furthering of an Ehlert expertise in "found" or "recycled" art. And very clever it is. ( Great if the teacher used Beautiful Stuff Art Beautiful Stuff: Learning with Found Materialsin combination with this for it's ability to help train you in the artistic process of the child within the realm of teaching the ethic of re-use, creativity, invention, an entire ethos of making) The book is a visual telling of her making childhood. It is very close to my own life in that way, and in this similarity I see it as the zen of a child. This is a great introduction to a childhood that gets up and into each day seeing what's going on and what there will be to do/make/design/construct/model/lift/invent today. She shares the gardening with these wonderful gloves, the paintbox, the great thing is all the flaps to lift the surprises she packs in this slim volume... all these things photographed and cut out so you have the immediate response that you are opening up a took kit and are actually there. So I use this actually as a motivational book. When in the classroom I want to talk about a home connected project, like looking around for pieces of this or that to bring in for us to use in some way making something, this gets me going. When I'm trying to get kids to share what might be being made in the home that we had no idea about, sometimes this helps edge it into view as the child thinks to share Dad's pinatas or Mom's lovely crochet. The last few years have been a bit harder in this respect. For one thing I think few people are making with their kids, and where I teach somehow in the poverty, there doesn't seem to be the response to it...of re-invention. Last year only two children had ANY photographs of their lives. I'm not saying they had digital. Only one had a computer. I'm saying TOO POOR for ANY pictures. That was new and that made the work I do with pictures and art more important. Three had crayons. Three. There are reasons. I don't think people have been in a culture of creating, it's been survival. I don't think it's valued yet as they are too close to evictions and hunger, and frank

I love Lois Ehlert's books, and this is hands-down my favorite. It's a charming story of the inspirations that surround us every day, the kind that can be lost if we don't pay attention to them. I've given away several copies to parents and childless friends who cooed over my copy.

I received this book as a gift from a preschool art student of mine. It's my very favorite book! The pictures are so much fun, as they are in ALL Lois Ehlert books. But I really enjoyed the story in this one as well.

Ehlert, Lois. (2004). Hands: Growing up to be an artist. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, Inc. This story by Lois Ehlert is a short explanation of a child looking after her role models: her mother and father. In this case, the small child is Lois Ehlert herself who wanted to grow up to be an artist, starting this wish at a very early age. Each page is a simple statement about something that her father or mother does relating to art. It is then followed by a sentence telling how she works to be like them. The story progresses and explains how, as Lois grows, so does her ability to be creative and to help her mother and father out on various projects. Whether that is in her father's shop, at her mother's craft table, or in the garden, she was always willing to practice as she grows artistically. In this very appealing piece of literature, Ehlert creates an aesthetically appealing book. Every page in this small book is a different length, shape, and color. On each one is a different tool, scrap, or art-related item that relates to the text. With the use of different shapes and vibrant colors, Ehlert shares her artistic talents with the reader. This book would be appropriate for a preschooler or primary grade children. They would find it extremely intriguing because each page is a new discovery. It is an easy read, but one that keeps the reader interested because of the variety found with each turn of the page.

The book is told from the point of view of a little child. The child enjoys making things with her hands. Her parents encourage her in many ways. They let her paint, sew, build with wood, garden and lots more. With her parents support she dreams of becoming an artist when she grows up! The book is really neat to look at. It has many foldable die cut pages that you can lift to learn more as you read. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone of any age. It is great encouragement for budding artist