"Words drift like music. Melodious. Mild. A sweet summer song for a sweet summer child who drifts off to sleep as the cottonwoods sway at the end of the garden. At the end of the day."
"But what he loves most - what makes Aaron's heart sing - is to listen to books in the old garden swing. To write stories, he thinks, is the greatest of things."
Aaron loves stories but he finds reading and writing are complex - he can however tell wonderful stories and he can draw his ideas and luckily his beautiful teacher can see his talent. Aaron does not need to feel small - he can shine. And over time reading will become easier but for now art is the way his heart can sing.
"Like the mightiest flames that banish the dark, hope grows in the soul, from the tiniest spark. His art makes a difference. His art leads the way and helps him discover what he wants to say."
The character of Aaron is based on Aaron Douglas, an African American artist, muralist and graphic artist.
When you hold this book in your hands please take time to explore all the lively images on the front cover and back covers. You will see all the wonderful things Aaron holds in his imagination. The art in this book by David Roberts is simply marvellous. I love all these hairstyles.
Empathetic art and lyrical text blend for a touching and empowering tale. Kirkus Star review
One of the true strengths of this book comes from the beautifully composed and carefully constructed rhyme. Writing a rhyming text requires enormous (ENORMOUS) skill. In this article from The Picture Book Den the authors make some really important observations about this form. The words in BOLD are my emphasis:
So how do you acquire those skills? And how do you learn to tell the difference between top quality verse and terrible rhyme? The answer is straightforward, but getting there isn’t easy. You work, hard.
You pick every word with consideration. You edit your own work ruthlessly and tirelessly. If there even might be a better alternative, you chuck out your favourite line and try a new one.
You keep all of the following in mind at every stage: plot, character, sense and logic, age appropriateness, commercial appeal, rhythm, timing, accent and pronunciation, syllables, stresses, emotional arcs, story beats, universality, originality, ... page turns, potential changes of scene in the illustrations…
Andrea Beaty is a master of rhyme. This book could be used as an exemplar to show aspiring writer the best way to use this form. Read this and think about the genuine emotions that come from these lines:
"And he reads ... well, he tried ... but it's so hard to start with thirty-three eyes peering into his heart."
I am a bit late coming to this splendid series. There are picture books, project books and chapter books oh and even toys. Here are some of the previous titles:
David took that plain text and created a whole classroom of quirky, talented and passionate kids, each with a complete personality and backstory. He did not share that backstory with me. Still, those characters were so intriguing that I started thinking of stories for them. I followed the clues tucked into his art to figure out who these kids were and what made them tick. I wrote more stories and David created even more magnificent illustrations filled with even more clues to those kids and their personalities. Andrea Beaty
Other books illustrated by David Roberts:
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