Draw Your Own Nature Zendoodles

April 1, 2017
Gr 4-8-Not everyone is an artist, but anyone can doodle. This series uses doodling to teach art concepts such as positive versus negative space, symmetry, and foreground versus background. About a dozen projects per book urge kids to try new patterns, tools, and materials in order to make and decorate objects that reflect their own individual aesthetic. Creativity habits are encouraged, too, among them creating and keeping a pattern library and drawing every day. Readers can use their doodles to decorate jars and gift boxes, make jewelry using shrink plastic, paint their nails, or make their own coloring pages to share. This collection skews rather sweet-missing among all the stars, feathers, and leaves are the flames, skulls, diamonds, and gothic writing found in most students' notebooks. VERDICT A fine choice where interest exists.

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