LOIS EHLERT has created many picture books, including Leaf Man, Pie in the Sky, In My World, Growing Vegetable Soup, Planting a Rainbow, and the bestselling Waiting for Wings. She lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Hands: growing up to be an artist
by Lois Ehlert
Hardcover
(First Edition)
$16.99
- ISBN-13: 9780152051075
- Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- Publication date: 09/28/2004
- Edition description: First Edition
- Pages: 48
- Sales rank: 280,335
- Product dimensions: 10.00(w) x 5.50(h) x 0.56(d)
- Age Range: 4 - 7 Years
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As the child in this story watches her mother and father work with their hands, she knows she wants to build and sew and garden and paint just like they do. All she needs is a special place to work, lots of good materials—and plenty of encouragement. With these tools, she is able to make the most wonderful things.
From Caldecott Honor-winning artist Lois Ehlert, here is a book for anyone, young or old, a book that celebrates the importance of nurturing the creative spirit within us all.
Includes an inspiring author's note.
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From the Publisher
Praise for Hands:[star]"Ehlert works visual magic . . . This inventive effort deserves nothing less than a big hand."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Charming, creative, and unique, this vibrant title celebrates and nurtures the efforts of young artists . . . A hands-down choice for gift-giving."—School Library Journal
"Children and adults will want to get their hands on this book . . . Once again, Ehlert makes us see simple, everyday objects anew."—Chicago Tribune
Publishers Weekly
Lois Ehlert's Hands: Growing Up to Be an Artist (1997) returns with slightly reworked trimmings, but keeps the same die-cut pages-in the shapes of scissors, seed packets and more-as well as a "paint box" that opens. PW said of the original, "Ehlert works visual magic in showing how an artist's creativity flows through the hands." Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Children's Literature
I do not remember seeing this book, although it was originally released seven years ago. Appealing to both children and adults, Ms. Ehlert talks from a child's perspective about her parents enjoying working with their hands and how she works at their sides. Visually enticing, the book has many 'shaped' pages, such as the title page that is a 4 x 5 screwdriver box (measurements not precise, there is not a ruler to be found in my discombobulated house), which flips open to reveal the title on the top half and a photographic collection of screwdrivers on the bottom. The child's palpable delight at creating and her joy in sharing this love with her parents is a joy to read. The book closes with her saying "...because I know, when I grow up, I want to be an artist." and this is next to a hand shaped, child sized page which flips to say, "Then I'll join hands (and we flip the mother sized glove) with my mom and dad." (printed on a father-sized glove). 2004, Harcourt, Ages 4 to 9. —Sharon Levin
Kirkus Reviews
An unseen first-person protagonist tempts readers to try their hand at crafts by showing various tools up close. On cardstock paper bound in a small rectangle, shiny, colorful photos of screwdrivers, hammer, pliers, pincushion, scissors, fabric, a seed packet, and paint tell the visual story. Neither the narrator nor her craft-talented parents (woodworking dad, sewing mom) are seen as they build, stitch, and plant vegetable seeds; the tools stand in for the actions. The narrator knows already that when she grows up, she'll "join hands with my mom and dad" and become an artist. The different shapes of the pages can be a little awkward, extraneously cut out to match the objects on them, but the design is otherwise lovely. Photos of a lush open-up paint box, brushes, and paint splotches are irresistible-have some paints ready for readers to use themselves. (Picture book. 2-4)