Ed Emberley's Children's Books

This is a wonderful book for developing
geometric art projects for very young
students.

      Edward Randolph Emberley (born October 19, 1931) is an American artist and illustrator, best known for children's picture books. He studied art at the Massachusetts School of Art in Boston (now Massachusetts College of Art and Design), from which he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting and illustration. He also studied at the Rhode Island School of Design.

      Emberley is best known for his children's book work - particularly instructional drawing books. His drawing books for children feature clear step-by-step instructions employing numbers, letters, and shapes graded to the early elementary school level. For example, the book Ed Emberley's A.B.C. uses this style of instruction, presenting a single letter-based drawing for each letter of the alphabet. He has also illustrated or contributed to over 50 books, many of which were first published between the 1960s and 1980s. Renewed interest in Emberley's work has come from adults who first encountered his books as children and now are purchasing them for their own children. His most recent book,The Red Hen, was released on October 26, 2010; like his preceding work, Chicken Little (2009) it is a collaboration with Rebecca Emberley.

      Emberley's first book, The Wing on a Flea (1961), was an ALA Notable Book and made the New York Times list of best-illustrated books for that year. He was sole runner-up for the 1967 Caldecott Medal, as illustrator of One Wide River to Cross, written by his wife Barbara Emberley. Next year he won the Medal for another collaboration with Barbara, Drummer Hoff. The award by children's librarians annually recognizes "the most distinguished American picture book or children". Drummer Hoff was also named to the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award list.

• Welcome to edemberley.com
• A Current Listing of Mr. Emberley's Books In Print
• An Extensive Listing of Ed Emberley's Books
• Ed Emberley, Children's Book Illustrator Video

"Product reviewed: Ed Emberley's Drawing Book of Animals My goal is not to promote or hinder the sale of any product, but to help other parents make informed decisions. My reviews might also give a few ideas for birthday gifts to those who aren't sure what to buy for young children."

Visit Jan Brett's Coloring Pages

Download and print her charming coloring pages at her website here.

Jan Brett (born December 1, 1949) is a best-selling American author/illustrator of children's books. Her books are known for colorful, detailed depictions of a wide variety of animals and human cultures ranging from Scandinavia to Africa. Her best-known titles include The Hat, The Mitten, The Three Snow Bears and Gingerbread Baby.

Creative Art Lessons Inspired by Books

Topic - Art and Literacey: Title of The Book and Author: Art Lesson and Teacher/Author: Books are listed in Alphabetical order omitting 'The' and 'A'.

1. "A" Was Once An Apple Pie" by Suse Macdonald - Apple Pie Pocket for Teaching by Kathy Grimm *
2. "Andrew Henry's Meadow" by Doris Burn - A Treehouse Collage by Kathy Grimm *
   
3. "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad Day" by Judith Viorest - A Terrible Horrible Cursive Exercise! by Kathy Grimm *
4. "The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse" by Eric Carle - Elephant Art Project by Patty Palmer  * The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse by Mark Warner * 
5. "Blueberries For Sal" by Robert McCloskey - Blueberries For Sal by Art Teacher * Blueberries for Sal by Beth Gorden * We made blueberry pie in preschool by Teach Preschool * Potato Blueberry Stamps by little page turners *
6. "The Bumpy Little Pumpkin" by Margery Cuyler - Paint, Cut and Paste Your Own Bumpy Little Pumpkins by Kathy Grimm *
7. "The Boy Who Drew Birds" by Jacqueline Davis - Second grade has gone to the birds by Shannah *
8. "Caps for Sale" by Esphyr Slobodkina -  "Hats" by ExploraStory *
9. "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" by Bill Martin Jr. - "Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom in my classroom" by Kathy Grimm * Chicka, Chika, Boom, Boom ... Happy Friday by Mrs. Steberger's First Grade * Coconut Tree Craft by No Time for Flash Cards *
10. "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" by Judi Barett - Cloudy With A Chance Of .... by Art Dish *
11. "Dogs Don't Brush Their Teeth" by Diane deGroat - Dogs Don't Make Art! by Katie Morris *
12. "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!" by Mo Willems - Don't let the pigeon drive the bus by Ashley * pigeon paintings *
13. "The Dot and Ish" by Peter H. Reynolds - Guide for classrooms by Can (large pdf) *
14. "Elmer's Special Day" by David McKee - Elmer's Day Parade by Kristin Bolster *
15. "The Story of Ferdinand" by Munro Leaf - Fiar: The Story of Ferdinand by Kristina *
16. "Frog and Toad Are Friends" by Arnold Lobel -  Frogs, Toads and Pollywogs for Spring *
17. "Galimoto" by Karen Lynn Williams - A Galimoto Art Lesson Plan by Kathy Grimm *
18. "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein - The Giving Tree: A Lesson on Earth Day by Mama in the Kitchen *
19. "Green" by Laura Vaccaro Seeger - green by Michelle Sterling *
20. "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss - 10 Green Eggs and Ham Crafts *
21. "Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown - Goodnight Peep Diorama --Peeps Show IV by MaryLea*
22. "Guess How Much I Love You" by Sam McBratney - Guide by The Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia's *
23. "Harold and the Purple Crayon" by Author Crockett Johnson - Harold and The Purple Crayon by KinderArt * Harold's Purple Crayon by Mrs. Goff * decoupaged frame *
24. "If the Dinosaurs Came Back!" by Bernard Most - If dinosaurs came back art lesson by Kristin Bolster *
25. "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" by Laura Joffe Numeroff - More Mice by Sylvan Hollow Schoolhouse * If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Moose a Muffin or A Pig a Pancake Lesson Ideas by The Virtual Vine *
26. "I Want My Hat Back" by Jon Klassen - Texture, emphasis, and anthropomorphism *
27. “Knuffle Bunny Free” by Mo Willems - Summer Virtual Book Club for Kids by Jenn *
28. "The Little Engine That Could" by Watty Piper - Kindergarten Shape Trains by Mrs. Weber * * Train Chalk Pastel Art Tutorial by Hodgepodge *
29. "Leaf Man" by Lois Ehlert - Paint, Cut and Paste a Leafy River Scene by Kathy Grimm *
30. "Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch - Feelings - preschool lesson plans *
31. "Madeline" by Ludwig Bemelmans - Madeline Chalk Pastel Fun *
32. "Miss Nelson is Missing" by Harry Allard - Which Witch? by Joanna Davis   *
33. "The Mitten" by Jan Brett - We did a Readers Theater of the story... by Mrs. Bell *
34. "Mouse Paint" by Ellen Stoll Walsh - Cotton Ball Easel Painting by MaryLea *
35. "Possom and Wattle" by Bronwyn Bancroft - Bronwyn Bancroft Inspired Animals by Mary * 
36. "The Pot That Juan Built" by Nancy Andrews-Goebel - Clay Slab People * 
37. "The Rainbow Fish" by Marcus Pfister - Craft an entire school of "Rainbow Fish from paper plates by Kathy Grimm * Rainbow Fish by tomato * Cupcake Liner Fish * Fish paper plate craft ****
38. "Rechenka's Eggs" by Patricia Polacco - Oil pastel and watercolor Easter egg art by Buggy and Buddy * 
39. "Sandy's Circus" by Tanya Lee Stone - Sandy's Circus *
40. "Snowballs" by Lois Ehlert - Ice Cube Painting and Salt Paint Snowmen by Michelle * Snow People at Artsonia *
41. "Snowflake Bentley" by Jacqueline Briggs Martin - 12 Six-Sided Snowflake Templates *
42. "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats -  The Snowy Day Art Project *
43. "Stellaluna" by Janell Cannon - Let's Talk About Bats by Dr. Inez Heath *
44. "Stephen Biesty's Cross-sections Castle" by Stephen Biesty - Poppins Book Nook-Castle Craft *
45. "Sylvie" by Jennifer Sattler - pink flamingos by Apex E Art *
46. "Tar Beach" by Faith Ringgold - Quilted Dreams by Cynthia McGovern *
47. "The Ugly Duckling" by Hans Christian Anderson - Cotton Balls and Fingerpaint by Jennifer Fischer *
48. "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle - Craft a Very Hungry Caterpillar by Kathy Grimm *
49. "Where The Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak - clay and paint projects from Cheryl Hancock * Wild Things by Mrs Tannert * "Wild Thing" Watercolor Monster by Kathy Barbro *

Collections and Larger Listings:

• More art lessons based upon Literature from Deep Space Sparkle
• Pinecone Crafts for Little Owl Books
• Ideas for Frog Activities and Frog Books from Patties Classroom
• Getting Messy With Ms. Jessi: M is for Monster: books by Ed Emberley
• 5 Crafts inspired by favorite children's books

Excellent Video About Illustrators who work in the Children's Literature Industry and Also About Books In General:

• Lynne Chapman: Becoming an Illustrator
• Mark Buehner - Children's Book Illustrator
• Illustrating Children's Books
• BBC - The Beauty of Books. Part 3: Illustrated Wonderlands and part 1 and 2.

Follow my pinterest board, "Art Lessons Inspired by Children's Books"

Paint, Cut and Paste a Leafy River Scene

      This fall leaf art lesson was inspired by a very popular children's book, "Leaf Man" by Lois Ehlert. View and hear the book below.
      The project may be completed over several consecutive days in an early learning center environment:

• First day: Collect and share fall leaves from your center's playground and/or surrounding neighborhood.
• Second day: Draw and cut many stencil patterns from the leaves that students have collected from the previous day. Let students play with the stencils, discovering how these can be layered or moved about in order to mimic the creatures depicted in the Leaf Man book.
• Third day: Draw plastic combs through acrylic and glitter paints on construction paper to recreate the Autumn colors found in the student's leaf collection.
• Fourth day: Trace the leaf stencils onto the decorated papers and cut them out. Now let each student paste together his or her own river scene depicting fish and turtles similar to those illustrated in the Leaf Man book.
• Fifth day: Let the students help you display their dry art works in the hallway or classroom of their school. Serve up some warm cider or chocolate and talk about all the things they have accomplished while enjoying the fall leaves!

      Harcourt Trade Publishers also includes a fun teacher's guide for an alternative art project. Below I have linked to additional fall leaf lessons that young students may enjoy.

• Fall Line Leaves from The Art of Education
• Fall Leaves Lesson from Deep Space Sparkle
• Why do Autumn Leaves Change Color?
• Art School: Fall of the leaf
• Explore fall themes to develop early learning centers
• Preschool themes and lessons about fall

Students paint, cut and paste leafy fish and turtles to swim in their colorful blue river.

A detail of the paper turtle cut from papers combed with glitter paints.

Young students can achieve very professional looking results when they work
 from stencils. Collecting, tracing and cutting leaf stencils is a very complex
exercise for little students but it teaches them confidence, patience and a
set of tasks that will generate excellent results. Chunk down lofty goals into
 to smaller tasks that may be performed successfully and your little artists
will achieve great things!

This popular children's book is read by Jonah.

Paint, Cut and Paste Your Own Bumpy Little Pumpkins

      This little story reminds me of the trips my husband and I used to take to the pumpkin patch with our children every year when they were small. They would roam the fields for an entire afternoon looking for the perfect pumpkins to carve on Halloween. My husband would pull them in a little red wagon when their small legs became tired. It was a charming annual event and some of our best photo opportunities happened in the pumpkin patch. 

      The little girl in this story feels self-conscious about her preference for the bumpy pumpkin. Her sisters tease her but her animal friends encourage her to trust her own artistic vision for the bumpy jack-o-lantern she imagines in her head. I will be reading this sweet little story at the early learning center this Fall and will also include a bumpy little pumpkin craft along with it.

"The Bumpy Little Pumpkin" by Margery Cuyler is illustrated by Will Hillenbrand. Teaches young students the importance of perseverance and individual taste.

I used the above pictures sponge rollers for the painting of these little bumpy pumpkins. I also mixed together both red glittery paint and a bright orange acrylic to achieve the color and texture used in this Halloween craft.

These "baby faced" jack-o-lanterns wouldn't scare anybody. A simple and sweet cut and paste project for very young students.

Back To School Books

      Our lead teacher has an abundance of books for children to read and explore according to the theme she is teaching. "The first week of school" is our opening theme for preschool this week, and as you can see, there are plenty of books in the classroom based upon this topic:

• "First Day Jitters" by Julie Danneberg
• "Little Critter's This Is My School" by Mercer Mayer
• "The New Bear at School" by Carrie Weston
• "D.W.'S Guide to Preschool" by Marc Brown
• "Pooh's First Day of School" by Kathleen Zoshfeld
• "If You Take A Mouse To School" by Laura Numeroff
• "Tucker's Best School Day" by Susan Winget
• "It's the First Day of School!" by Charles M. Schulz
• "Class Clown" by Michael Martchenko

      Actor and author John Lithgow talks from his own experience about why reading aloud to children is important. Lithgow visited the Plaza Branch of the Kansas City Public Library on September 15, 2012, to read from his children's books and visit with Kansas City Symphony conductor Aram Demirjian.

Find out more about the Library's Building a Community of Readers initiative at http://www.kclibrary.org/building-com....

Learn more about Family Read Aloud month and the Turn the Page KC for city-wide literacy at http://turnthepagekc.org/

A Terrible Horrible Cursive Exercise

      This cursive exercise demonstrates just "how" teachers may integrate a
reading exercise with a penmanship project. Students can draw a picture of
themselves having a terrible, horrible face and then practice cursive letter
patterns over and over around their aching heads! Oh, how horrible! This
repetitive drawing helps develop motor coordination, pattern making, and
includes kinesthetic learning too!

     Cursive, also known as script, joined-up writing, joint writing, linking, running writing, or handwriting is any style of penmanship in which the symbols of the language are written in a conjoined and/or flowing manner, generally for the purpose of making writing faster. However, not all cursive copybooks join all letters. Formal cursive is generally joined, but casual cursive is a combination of joins and pen lifts. In the Arabic, Latin, and Cyrillic alphabets, many or all letters in a word are connected, sometimes making a word one single complex stroke.

      While the terms cursive or script are popular in the United States for describing this style of writing the Latin script, this term is rarely used elsewhere. Joined-up writing is more popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia, and linking is more popular in New Zealand. The term handwriting is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

      Cursive is considered distinct from printscript, in which the letters of a word are unconnected and in Roman/Gothic letterform rather than joined-up script. Printscript is also commonly called "manuscript", "block letter", "print writing", "block writing" (and sometimes simply "print" which confusingly also refers to mechanical printing).

      A distinction is also made between cursive and "italic" penmanship, in which some ascenders and descenders of cursive have loops which provide for joins and italic which is derived from chancery cursive, which mostly uses non-looped joins or no joins. There are no joins from g, j, q or y, and a few other joins are discouraged. Italic penmanship became popular in the 15th century Italian Renaissance. The term "italic" as it relates to handwriting is not to be confused with typed letters that slant forward. Many, but not all letters in the handwriting of the Renaissance were joined, as they are today in italic.

      In Hebrew cursive and Roman cursive, the letters are not connected. In the research domain of handwriting recognition, this writing style is called connected cursive, to indicate the difference between the phenomenon of italic and sloppy appearance of individual letters (cursive) and the phenomenon of connecting strokes between letters, i. e., a letter-to-letter transition without a pen lift (connected cursive).

      The origin of the cursive method is associated with practical advantages of writing speed and infrequent pen lifting to accommodate the limitations of the quill. Quills are fragile, easily broken, and will spatter unless used properly. Steel dip pens followed quills; they were sturdier, but still had some limitations. The individuality of the provenance of a document was a factor also, as opposed to machine font.
      Locating projects and ideas in teacher's manuals about the instruction of cursive or penmanship is becoming a thing of the past. However, with a little ingenuity one can develop some very diverting ideas that promote the teaching of the subject on the internet. I will include in this journal a collection of ideas and original projects that I will design to promote the teaching of cursive writing.

"Renowned author Judith Viorst reads her beloved children's book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, NC, as part of Bookmarked 2010! a celebration of reading with children, produced by the Lucy Daniels Center for Early Childhood. For more information about Bookmarked! visit www.lucysbookclub.org."

A Treehouse Collage

On the left, a treehouse collage by my youngest child made way back when...
On the right, one of my favorite children's books by Doris Burn.
A project designed around these two ideas would be perfect.

      Doris "Doe" Wernstedt Burn (April 24, 1923 – March 9, 2011) was an American children's book author and illustrator. She lived most of her life on Waldron Island in the San Juan Islands archipelago of Washington. Her book illustrations, mostly done between 1965 and 1971, consist of absorbingly detailed line drawings, often of children matter-of-factly doing extraordinary things.

      Burn was born in Portland, Oregon to explorer, mountaineer and United States Forest Service worker Lage Wernstedt and his wife Adele. The family resided on Guemes Island near Anacortes. After being interviewed by writer June Burn for the Bellingham Herald, Mr. Wernstedt and his family became friends of the Burns and built a summer cabin near theirs on Waldron, a small island without ferry service.

Doris Burn at her home in
Guemes Island, WA

      Burn attended the University of Oregon and the University of Hawaii, and graduated from the University of Washington. She married South (Bob) Burn after World War II and the couple made their home on Waldron Island. She had four children, whom she taught for one year on Guemes Island's one-room schoolhouse. Burn separated from her husband, but they remained lifelong friends and neighbors.

      Burn worked on her meticulous illustrations in the evenings, in "a small cabin where she spends the day at work after chopping enough wood to keep the fire going through the day, hauling two buckets of water from the pump for washing brushes and pens and brewing 'a perpetual pot of tea'". Waldron Island was without electricity, telephone service, running water or merchants. All of her goods and supplies were brought by boat from the mainland.

      In 1956 Burn took a portfolio of illustrations to publishers in New York and was encouraged to continue working. Her children remember her working late nights by lantern-light with the fireplace burning down to embers.

      Doe's oldest son, Mark Nathaniel Burn, was the inspiration for her first book, Andrew Henry's Meadow (1965), the story of a boy who, ignored by his family, builds a retreat for himself in a nearby meadow. He is soon joined by other children for whom he also builds houses, tailored to their interests and hobbies. Andrew Henry's Meadow won the Washington Governor's Art Award and was a Weekly Reader book club selection. It was reissued in a 40th anniversary edition by San Juan Publishing in 2005. She went on to write two other works, The Summerfolk and The Tale of Lazy Lizard Canyon, and illustrated eight others.

More Related Content:

• Tree house art projects help foster kids
• HEArt at Chavez - Tree house havens
• Tiny Tree House by Ricza Ricky
• Tree House Project: Tree Houses capture the imagination of the child in all of us!

A similar watercolor assignment exploring the treehouse theme.