I found this amazing review about a super cool book for young readers!
Elephants Can Paint Too by Katya Arnold is a fantastic nonfiction book perfect for kids. Arnold uses simple and informative language that’s easy to understand. She starts with, “I teach in two schools. One is in the city. The other is in the jungle. Some of my students have hands. Others have trunks.” From there, the book goes on to show, page by page, the similarities and differences between teaching painting to human children and to elephants.
The book includes informative sidebars that give more details about elephants without interrupting the simple story. For example, the text says, “Some students eat grass. Others eat peanut butter and jelly. But they all love cookies.” The sidebar next to it reads, “Elephants are vegetarians that eat grass, leaves, twigs, and fruit. They also like human food, especially ice cream. Each day they eat about three hundred pounds of food (as much as twelve cows eat) and drink thirty-five gallons of water (as much as a whole bathtub full). They use their trunks to put the food into their mouths and to slurp up the water.”
Arnold’s use of comparisons helps explain things in a way that’s easy for both children and adults to understand. Her writing is also humorous. One sidebar says, “Elephants have 150,000 muscles in their trunks. (Our entire body has only 639 muscles.) Some elephants hold the brush by wrapping their trunks around it. Others hold it inside their trunks. If an elephant throws the brush away or eats it, he probably won’t become an artist.”
The best part of Elephants Can Paint Too are the photographs by the author, Katya Arnold. The book also includes an author’s note with more information about how you can buy elephant art and support Asian elephants.
This book is a great read for kids who love animals and art. It's educational, funny, and filled with beautiful photos. Check it out!
I wanted us to be 90% caught up for our next art lesson after spring break and after Easter! So, I had some examples that I left on the table from print outs from some cool bunnies and chics coming out of patterned eggs. I thought these were pretty successful for a filler lesson with kids so who were testing and ready for a week long break!
