Book Review: Draw Me A Star
A stellar book for ages 3 and up!
Contents
Who's Eric Carle?
Eric Carle has been producing children’s books since 1963 (almost 60 years!) and has several popular picture books and some books are available in over 60 different languages. His books are praised to be intuitive and innovative little stories with his vibrant and instantly recognisable collage art style. These books have inspired a generation of readers to use their reading as a platform to explore the world!
Reading with children
Draw Me A Star is lovely to read with children mainly because of the narrator’s voice that really takes control of the book. It guides children through the ideas of creation and creativity - like drawing a star, for example. The star is only the beginning as children explore the shapes and colours and the creative possibilities of other wonderful things in the world like trees and humans, too!
It’s the kind of book that invites children to observe and admire the world around them. And for that reason alone, we love the concept behind it!
Tips, artwork and engagement
Obviously, with a book about drawing, the activity one should definitely do is just encourage children to look about and draw whatever they see. We’ve let our three-year-old try her hand at this, and sometimes paintings turn out a little… abstract, but it’s all about letting them explore freely, I suppose!
Another thing you could do with this book is to simply point out things around you when you’re out (*ahem* safely in COVID circumstances) or when you’re watching something together. We find it useful to bring her favourite characters and ask her to reproduce them or colour them in.
The artwork is made in true Eric Carle-fashion. With bright collage art that’s eye-catching. You can never really go wrong with this art style in this day and age.
Other thoughts
A book about creativity and drawing and exploring the world does seem to lack ever so slightly on the representation side… The ‘Adam and Eve’ figures are a white male and female. It would have been nice to see other races represented for drawing but there’s always the chance to explore this further after reading.
There is one page with nude human drawings…!
Another huge note: there is nudity in this book. This has been a controversial choice but, as a doctor, my sister doesn’t see the disadvantages of letting children learn and be conscious of basic human anatomy from an early age. In fact, the earlier the better! But, of course, this is a personal decision - so you must make that choice yourself.
Conclusion
Aside from some issues with race representation and some nudity in the book, Draw Me A Star is like most Eric Carle books in that you can’t go wrong with the bright, eye-catching collage art and the engaging narration that accompanies it. In reading and engaging with the book after reading, the child is encouraged to observe and admire their surroundings.
How useful has this review been to you? If you’re interested in getting this book, we sell the Simplified Chinese version in our online bookshop! Check it out here. This book is also global Luka compatible! Click here to browse our other Luka compatible stock.
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