WHERE'S YOUR CREATIVITY?

Readers are directly addressed about the nature of creativity and are given suggestions to expand their own.

Every page is full of bright, playful, yet sophisticated art, reminiscent of Henri Matisse’s collages. Appropriately, the images—whether a grassy field or a pair of legs or a close-up of an astronaut’s face—often spill off the page. The words seek to inspire as they discuss, in bold, black print, the fact that creativity is all around (“the tingle in your toes”), how new ideas may “change your day” or “change the world,” and some of the many forms creativity takes. In order to foster their own creativity, readers are encouraged to, among other things, stretch their bodies, make up a song in the shower, and choose clothing to match their moods. The sometimes-preachy text then touches on different professions and the creativity inherent in them, introducing plenty of new vocabulary words. Some of the suggestions, such as “Wriggle like a snake,” are excellent ways for little ones to immediately interact with the book. However, much of the text is oriented toward older readers in its assumptions of life experience and skills—and even in its encouragement of imaginative play. In general, who is more likely to pretend: a preschooler or a middle schooler?

Exuberant text and art; hard-to-assign age recommendation—best for art classrooms.