"Ish" is a sweet story about a little boy named Ramon who loves to draw. He draws anywhere and anytime, whatever he feels, whatever he sees. One day his older brother makes fun of his drawings asking "What is THAT?!" as Ramon drew a picture of a flower vase. Ramon started seeing his drawings as "not right" and crumpled them up and tried again until one day he just gave up. With his hopes crushed Ramon finds that he has an admirer. His little sister Marisol had been rescuing his drawings from the trash and hanging them on her wall. He tells her the vase doesn't look like a vase at all, she responds telling him it looks vase-ISH! This sheds a whole new light on Ramon's drawings and he begins drawing again despite his drawings not looking completely "right.."
I LOVED this story. I loved to draw as a kid and even into adulthood, I almost became an art teacher because I had such a passion for it. I think so many kids love to draw but are faced with such critical negativity for their creativity. I know growing up and even as an adult I was criticized for my drawings not looking "right" and it definitely discouraged me.
I think this story shows children that your imagination and creativity is unique in that it may not always "look right" to someone else, but that doesn't make it any less beautiful. It teaches children not to be so hard on themselves and to embrace their creativity.
I would read this book to my kindergarten class because of the simple language and illustrations. As a pre-k teacher I hear all too often "Her picture's ugly!" or "He's scribbling!" so I think this book could show them that not all people draw the same, or see things the same way. That's what makes us all so unique!
This book seems so much fun! I love the topic of drawing that a picture doesn't have to look exactly like the object that is being drawn. It can look kinda like it, "ish," and it can still be beautiful and unique. Some of the best artists painted and drew items that only kinda resembled what it does in real life. Drawing isn't exact and it would be fun to demonstrate that with students. This book is a great introduction book to drawing lessons that you can do with your kids.
ReplyDeleteBeth, I just had a conversation today about how teachers (and all others) need to respond positively to children's creative expression. Thanks for writing up a book that sweetly illustrates that point!
ReplyDeleteJust from your summary, I already love this story. It reminded me of "Harold and the Purple Crayon" and how that story is wonderful because of the creativity involved. I'm a bit OCD when it comes to coloring inside the lines or the right colors but I know I wasn't always like this and I made mistakes too, which weren't mistakes to me at all as a child. What a great teaching tool especially for young children like you pointed out. I'd definitely use this story in my classroom.
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