Kid Art

One of my favorite things about writing children's books is the artwork I sometimes receive from the children who've read the books. A recent post on author Julie Halpern's Blog of Wonder reminded me it was about time to share some more. These pieces all came from first graders at P.S. 107 in New York and date from 2002 (so they're high schoolers now!). My picture book The Shark Who Was Afraid of Everything was read to them and then they all did this activity sheet asking them to illustrate a time when they felt brave.

These four are some of my favorites and currently hang in my office. The one above is my absolute most favorite. It reads: "I was brave when I was in my house by myself and I saw things on the wall that was not real." The terror this displays is in such sharp contrast to the delightful picture. I love it. Part of me is jealous, wishing I had written that sentence.

This one is great too. The perfect childhood fear. I also love that she has placed herself in the picture with the shark from the book. I also love the two underwater suns, the plants at the bottom of the page and whatever the red dots are supposed to be.

Poor Kareem must have never met my cat Doggie or he never would've gotten over his fear. I have no idea what is happening to the cat in picture. He appears to be in a hammock and Kareem is apparently shouting at it while a happy girl dances in the air. Top quality stuff.

This one is just too adorable for words. I love the scared duplicate Ashley in the box with what I assume to be a ghost. The contrasting expressions between the two representations of herself is striking. Being brave certainly suits her dress.

These are the kinds of things that a writer looks at when work is being particularly frustrating.