Pablo the elephant has artist block and needs to paint a picture for the upcoming exhibition. After moving to a different location, he has a dream and is able to solve his problem. A good book to teach problem solving. ( )

Où les animaux réalisent des peintures pour une exposition...

Pablo the Artist is a hilarious tale of an elephant named Pablo, plagued with “artist’s block”, who sets out for the country to find his inspiration with the help of some animal friends. This book will be a staple in both my home library and art lesson plans because it teaches a ton of artistic vocabulary through comical dialogue between animals in an art club.

Within the first few pages alone, terms such as exhibition, portrait, self-portrait, canvas, landscape, and abstract painting have been used in fun and non-academic manner. I feel that children will understand these concepts much easier and completely when they are defined through narrative and illustration, or because their curiosity is peaked, rather than when sitting down for a lesson on what a landscape vs. a portrait means.

I plan on reading this story before discussing what a landscape and portrait are because it will prompt an interesting conversation on what each means in a concrete manner as the students will have experienced meaning making through the characters. I also plan on using this book to explore the nature of inspiration and how sometimes it takes help to get an idea of how to approach a blank canvas. I love how Kitamura shows that Pablo had to eat, take a nap, and even dream while animals helped him paint before he could successfully complete his masterpiece.

Blah, blah, blah, isn't life better when we all work together, blah, blah, blah. There are many books that do this theme better. ( )