The Art Lesson
By Tomie dePaola
This book is about a little boy named Tommy who loves to draw and he draws all the time. He is excited to take art lessons at school but when he gets to school he discovers that he does not get to be as creative as he wants to be. Eventually Tommy and his art teacher come to an agreement; if he gets his homework done then he can have time to draw. By expressing himself and getting to be creative Tommy continued to pursue his passion and make a career out of it. This is a really inspiring story about perseverance through difficult or frustrating situations. I think this story mirrors Tomie dePaola’s life somewhat.
I also happen to love dePaola’s illustrations. I love how the illustrations are not especially bright. Whenever I look at dePaola’s illustrations though they make me happy, and I don’t know if I can explain it. Maybe it is the happy expressions that are on many of his characters’ faces or maybe it is the smoothing watercolors that he chooses to use for his illustrations. Whatever it is reading dePaola’s work always puts me in a good mood and it is definitely a first choice when I reading to younger children.