The Scraps Book: Notes from a Colorful Life - Hardcover

Ehlert, Lois

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1442435712 ISBN 13: 9781442435711

Publisher: Beach Lane Books, 2014

Synopsis

The renowned Caldecott Honoree and illustrator of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom provides a moving, intimate, and inspiring inside look at her colorful picture book career.

Lois Ehlert always knew she was an artist. Her parents encouraged her from a young age by teaching her how to sew and saw wood and pound nails, and by giving her colorful art supplies. They even gave her a special spot to work that was all her own.

Today, many years and many books later, Lois takes readers and aspiring artists on a delightful behind-the-scenes tour of her books and her book-making process. Part fascinating retrospective, part moving testament to the value of following your dreams, this richly illustrated picture book is sure to inspire children and adults alike to explore their own creativity.

About this title

About the Author

Lois Ehlert (1934–2021) illustrated numerous inventive, celebrated, and bestselling picture books, including Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Mice, Ten Little Caterpillars, and her own Holey Moley, The Scraps Book, RRRalph, Lots of Spots, Boo to You!, Leaf Man, Snowballs, Waiting for Wings, Planting a Rainbow, Growing Vegetable Soup, and Color Zoo, which received a Caldecott Honor. 

Reviews

Gr 2–5—Ehlert continues to enchant children with her inventive picture books. In this charming autobiography, she gives readers a fascinating glimpse into her creative process and her considerable talents as both an author and an illustrator are on full display. When discussing the fact that a career doesn't happen immediately, she states, "Everyone needs time to develop their dreams. An egg in the nest doesn't become a bird overnight." Each and every page pops with her signature collages as she gives examples of her various techniques. "I use odd items to create texture. I splatter paint with a toothbrush or rub a crayon over my grater." This book will attract browsers, thrill children who already love her work, be the perfect complement to an author/illustrator study, and is a stellar introduction to graphic design at its finest. A small masterpiece that is a delight for the eye and ear.—Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ

*Starred Review* Ehlert offers a highly visual presentation of her roots as an artist and her process as a writer and illustrator of picture books. She describes growing up with “parents who made things with their hands.” They encouraged her to do the same, providing her with good tools and a place to work as well as leftover fabrics, buttons, and wood scraps. Later, she went to art school and began to create picture books. Simply written and inviting, the text leads readers to understand her approach to creating books as well as her hands-on involvement with art throughout her life. Ehlert guides readers through the making of picture books, including gathering ideas, writing, creating storyboards, and making collages. Admirers of her clean, precise pictures may be surprised to read, “I’m messy when I work.” Illustrated with photos from her childhood, vivid artwork from her books, and found objects that she has incorporated into her collages, the colorful pages of this “portrait of the artist” are visually riveting. Creative children will find inspiration and encouragement here. And, short of a personal visit from the writer herself, this is the best resource available for any classroom doing an author/artist study on Ehlert and her distinctive books. Grades 1-4. --Carolyn Phelan

Edition details

• Publisher: Beach Lane Books
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1442435712
• ISBN 13: 9781442435711
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Ehlert Lois
• Number of pages: 72