All posts by jlin

Used Book Sale at the J

Out of print children’s books, vintage piano scores, thrilling novels, coffee table art books, beautiful atlases, paperbacks for the beach, well-loved cookbooks, DVDs, and much more await you at the Jewish Community Center’s Used Book Sale, August 24-28, 2014, Staenberg Family Complex Arts & Education Building, 2 Millstone Campus Drive. Proceeds from the sale benefit the Roswell and Wilma Messing Cultural Arts and Education Department. “Bag Day” on the last day of the sale is quite a bargain, although sometimes the children’s books have already been well picked through.

Schedule

Sunday, August 24, 2014, 10 am to 5 pm: Preview Day
$10/person (free for ages 16 and under)

Monday-Wednesday, August 25-27, 2014. 10 am to 7 pm
FREE admission

Thursday, August 28, 2014, 10 am to 4 pm
FREE admission. Bag Day (fill a provided bag for only $5).

Donations

Do you have books to donate to the sale? Books may be dropped off at the Jewish Community Center Arts & Education Building. Please limit drop off at this location to one box or less. You may also drop books off at H. F. Epstein Hebrew Academy located just minutes from the Jewish Community Center on 1138 Warson Road. All donors should report to the school office where you can meet with a building and grounds staff member who will assist you in unloading your books. Drop Off Hours at H.F. Epstein Hebrew Academy through August 15 are Monday through Friday: 9 am to 4 pm.

BookSaleattheJ

Photo: Jewish Community Center

 

St. Louis International Children’s Film Festival

 

Photo: GKIDS
Photo: Nocturna (2007), GKIDS

Cinema St. Louis presents SLIFF/Kids, the Second Annual St. Louis International Children’s Film Festival, August 1-10, 2014. The films include international and American-independent narrative features (both animated and live action) and film shorts programs. Although the programs are geared to children and young teens ages 6-16, older teens and adults will find the films equally appealing. All film programs are free and open to the public. No tickets are required to see any show, but seating is on a first-come, first-served basis, so early arrival is suggested, particularly for groups of three or more. SLIFF/Kids presents film programs on the festival’s two weekends (August 1-3 and August 8-10). Venues include Webster University, Saint Louis Art Museum, COCA, St. Louis Public Library’s Central Library, Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville, and Lindenwood University in St. Charles.

Complete Festival Program

Event Venue Information

COCA, 524 Trinity Avenue
Saint Louis Art Museum: Forest Park, 1 Fine Arts Drive
St. Louis Public Library’s Central Library Auditorium (screenings) and Creative Experience (camps): 1301 Olive St. downtown. Parking is available in a free lot at Olive and 15th streets. Tokens, which are required to exit the lot, are available at the Olive Street and Locust Street desks within Central Library. Parking at meters is free on Sundays.
Webster University’s Winifred Moore Auditorium: Webster Hall, 470 East Lockwood Avenue. Parking is available both in front of and behind Webster Hall, no permits are required.
Wildey Theatre: 252 North Main Street, Edwardsville, IL.
Lindenwood University’s Young Hall Auditorium, Watson and Houston streets (one block west of South Kingshighway and Watson Street), 209 South Kingshighway Street, St. Charles, MO 63301. Parking is available next to Young Hall, no permits required.

The Festival has also organized many excellent filmmaking camps. With the participation of both Lindenwood and Webster universities, free Filmmaking Camps on live action and animation are held at the St. Louis Public Library’s Creative Experience on the fest’s weekdays (August 4-8). Also, free Advanced Filmmaking Camps (for teens with previous experience) will be held the week after SLIFF/Kids (August 11-15) at both the St. Louis Public Library’s Creative Experience (documentary camp) and Lindenwood University (live-action camp). Before SLIFF/Kids officially begins, from July 28-August 1, COCA will offer a filmmaking camp in which participants will create a 3 to 5 minute digital short that could serve as a pilot for a longer digital series; cost is $250. On August 9, a full-day Teen Workshop on the Art of Animation will be held at the Saint Louis Art Museum; there will be a $75 charge for this workshop ($50 for Saint Louis Art Museum members).

Details on the free Basic Filmmaking Camps, Advanced Filmmaking Camps, and Teen Workshop.

Film screenings appropriate for all ages

Charlie Chaplin: Still Funny After All These Years: Friday, August 1, 2014 at 7 pm, Webster University (120 minutes). Features classic silent-film shorts by Charlie Chaplin, live music by Matt Pace, and clown performances by Circus Kaput‘s Oh My Gosh Josh.

The Boxcar Children: Saturday, August 2, 2014 at 12:30 pm, Central Library (81 minutes). Animated and in English. Based on the first book of Gertrude Chandler Warner’s extraordinarily popular series – with more than 50 million books sold worldwide – “The Boxcar Children” is a tale of family togetherness that relates the touching story of the four Alden siblings, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny.

Nocturna: Saturday, August 2, 2014 at 10:30 am, Central Library (88 minutes). Animated and in English. Visually stunning and wildly inventive, this film explores the mystery of the night in a sweeping nocturnal adventure full of “Alice in Wonderland” like characters and moody, dream-inspired landscapes. 

Mary Poppins: Saturday, August 2, 2014 at 2:30 pm, Central Library (139 minutes). Live action, animated, and in English. Released from the Disney Vault in celebration of its 50th Anniversary, this beloved classic shines like never before with an all-new digital restoration. Winner of five Academy Awards®, including Best Actress (Julie Andrews), Best Song (“Chim Chim Cher-ee”), and Best Visual Effects, “Mary Poppins” is a family-film classic as fresh and funny today as when it was made. 

Boy and the World: Saturday, August 9, 2014 at 2:30 pm, Central Library (80 minutes). Animated and wordless. Cuca lives a life of quiet wonder, exploring all that the countryside has to offer. But his cozy life is shattered when his father leaves for the city, prompting Cuca to embark on a quest to reunite his family. Accompanying the stunning visuals is a rich soundscape of pan-flute, samba, and Brazilian hip-hop.

Family Shorts Program: Saturday, August 9, 2014 at 10:30 am, Central Library (95 minutes). SLIFF/Kids offers a selection of family-friendly shorts from around the globe. As an added treat, the shorts produced by participants in the festival’s Filmmaking Camps will screen as part of the program.

One of the featured shorts by Juan Pablo Zaramella:

The Incredibles: Sunday, August 10, 2014 at 1:30 pm, Central Library (115 minutes). Animated and in English. Shawn Krause, a St. Louis native and 20-year veteran of Pixar Animation Studios, introduces and discusses the film.

My Dog the Champion: Saturday, August 2, 2014 at 1 pm, Lindenwood University; Saturday, August 9, 2014 at 12:30 pm, Central Library; Sunday, August 10, 2014 at 1 pm, Wildey (87 minutes). Live action and in English. Dora Madison Burge (“Friday Night Lights”) stars as Madison, a spoiled big-city 16-year-old with a full teenage social life. But when her mom is deployed overseas for three months, Maddy is sent to live with her hard-nosed grandfather (Lance Henriksen of “Aliens”) at his rural cattle ranch. In this strange place with no wi-fi, Maddy will meet cute 17-year-old dog trainer Eli (Cody Linley of “Hannah Montana”), grow to love and respect her stubborn grandpa, and bond with an old cattle dog who just may have the potential to be a blue-ribbon champion. 

Complete listing of all festival films, including those appropriate for ages 8 and up. 

Bar Method for Adult Ballet Dancers

BurrLeonard

 

Bar Method and other barre based fitness disciplines have become enormously popular among people who want to develop a strong, lean, and flexible body of a ballet dancer. But are you already an adult ballet dancer or just beginning to take ballet classes? Adult ballet can be challenging sometimes in terms of slow progress, the needed time commitment, and the potential for injuries. Adding Bar Method classes to your movement regimen can greatly improve your dancing and enable you to move safely and smartly for many more years.

I casually took jazz and African dance classes in high school and finally discovered ballet classes in college. It wasn’t until graduate school though at the age of 26 that I jumped enthusiastically into ballet classes in Washington, DC. For three years, I took 6 to 9 ballet classes a week at the stellar Maryland Youth Ballet school and inspiring Joy of Motion dance studios. My technique, musicality (I got my undergraduate degree in piano, but not specifically in moving my body through music!), and overall courage and perseverance changed greatly. It was a unique time in my life to have the freedom and time to dedicate to amateur dance. I am so grateful for having the experience. An arts management career, family, and move to Sacramento and St. Louis followed, and now at the age of 40, I am down to 2 to 3 ballet classes a week. Of course, I wish that I could take more, but it is difficult to find great adult ballet classes that work with my schedule (we’re no longer in a large city) and at a reasonable cost. Almost two years ago, I started taking Bar Method classes in St. Louis 3 to 4 times a week.

Here are the top 10 ways Bar Method has changed my dancing:

1. Bar Method is efficient. I can’t carve out time in my schedule to take daily 90 minute ballet classes anymore (plus the warming up period and post-class stretching older dancers have to commit to) and 60 minute Bar Method classes help me maintain a fair amount of core, back, and gluteal muscle strength, plus hamstring flexibility. Every second of Bar Method classes is used effectively. When I do make it to ballet classes during the week, I don’t feel like I’m starting over every time because Bar Method classes keep me strong.

2. An important part of the Bar Method syllabus is tucking your pelvis at certain points of class (sometimes holding throughout an exercise and sometimes alternating between releasing and tucking at defined intervals) and bending forward slightly from the waist while lengthening the lower back. This positioning, while a little extreme for ballet (I try not to think of it as “tucking” in ballet but more engaging my abdominal muscles), teaches you how to engage the dropping of the tailbone, the simultaneous upwards and downwards extension of the lower back, and just how far forward your torso (bending from the waist) needs to be to find a dynamic balance in ballet. My incorrect ballet tendencies of letting my weight drop into my heels and turning with my torso tilting slightly backwards have improved with my newly developed Bar Method muscles and mindset.

3. It wasn’t until I took Bar Method classes for about a year that I finally started to feel what it’s like to dance with my upper back. Adult dancers often spend so much of our class time trying to memorize the combinations, figuring out our balance, trying to go to the left, and wondering why our leg seems so incredibly low to the ground in arabesque, among many, many other goals. Dancing with the upper back isn’t necessarily an initial priority for adult ballet dancers. Bar Method technique opens the chest, strengthens the numerous muscles in the upper back, teaches your body how to drop the scapula while engaging other arm muscles, and increases general shoulder muscle stability. This upper back strength and stability has improved my port de bras, enabled my neck to lengthen upwards, has made pirouettes easier and cleaner, made my epaulement more natural and supported, and generally allowed my lower body to feel lighter and quicker in petit allegro.

4.  Related to developing upper back strength, Bar Method classes gave me arm muscles! It’s very easy to focus on the legs and torso in ballet class, but there is a reason professional dancers have such sculpted arms. They have to use them in order to make the rest of their body work in ballet. The arm muscles and stability that I have developed from Bar Method classes have improved my pirouettes, overall line, strength to extend energy through my fingertips, port de bras, epaulement, and my ability to look at and move to where I’m going. In general, my body feels more balanced and efficient with significant arm strength.

5. Bar Method exercises push me both physically and mentally to an uncomfortable place, but never an unsafe one. A big piece of ballet is taking risks in class and in performance. Many adult ballet dancers struggle somewhat with letting go, not over thinking technique, and leaving their heart out there on the dance floor. Bar Method instructors routinely say, “Get comfortable with that uncomfortable feeling,” “Your mind will give up before your body does,” and “Dig deep,” all while carefully monitoring individual students for any unsafe body placement. These mantras, individual corrections, and the enormous and deceptive difficulty of Bar Method exercises have conditioned me to be a little more courageous in ballet. These days in ballet classes, my physical and mental endurance is better, my movement more free, and my mistakes much more grand!

Exercises-2-7-Flat-Back-Diamond

6. For the first time in my life, I can actually feel and engage my transverse abdominis muscle. Granted, I still have a layer of fat over it (thanks to my beautiful daughter), but thanks to Bar Method classes, I can now purposefully use these muscles in ballet. Leg extensions, plies, pirouettes, balances, jumps, and more, all make a bit more sense and are easier with a stronger core. I studied Pilates (mainly reformer, chair, and mat work) for several years, but have found that Bar Method more efficiently develops the deep transverse abdominis muscle at a more economical cost per class (than pilates equipment classes) as well.

7. Bar Method grew out of exercises created by a German ballet dancer, Lotte Berk. She fled the Nazis in the late 1930s and made her way to London where she injured her back dancing. In response to her injuries, Ms. Berk developed a fitness routine which combined ballet conditioning with rehabilitative therapy. She opened up her own studio in London and the popular Lotte Berk Method eventually made its way to America. Burr Leonard studied the Lotte Berk Method in New York for years and gradually opened up several studios in the United States. After a decade, Ms. Leonard developed her own barre based fitness curriculum, working closely with a physical therapist to rework some of the Lotte Berk exercises to make them safer, more effective, and more accessible to a wider population. Bar Method exercises were based on a dancer’s vocabulary and experiences, so it’s no surprise that they are beneficial to adult ballet dancers. Read more about the history of Bar Method. 

8. Bar Method exercises increase flexibility. The active stretching portions of Bar Method classes are fairly brief but effective. The stretches primarily focus on parallel position hamstring flexibility, lengthening the hip flexors, and oblique extensions, among others. So much of ballet class stretching focuses on turned out positions, so it is nice to balance out the body with more parallel alignment stretches. I do extra flexibility exercises after class and at home to supplement.

9.  If you haven’t been seriously dancing since you were 5, most likely developing and sustaining turn out in ballet class is an ongoing challenge. Many of the Bar Method exercises carefully strengthen the inner thighs which help the adult ballet dancer more easily maintain turnout in ballet class and performances. There is a nice mixture of turned out and parallel exercises in Bar Method classes which keeps muscle development well balanced.

10.  Bar Method classes are a safe complementary workout with ballet class. Although incredibly tough at times, Bar Method exercises most likely will not cause an injury or work against your ballet training. I have tried some of the other barre based disciplines in different cities in the U.S. (Pure Barre, Dailey Method, and Barre 3), and find that Bar Method is the safest most rigorously researched regimen. The logical and thoughtful progression from exercise to exercise (much like the series of ballet barre exercises), the duration of each exercise, the options offered depending on how your body is feeling on a particular day, the individual attention to form, the extensive training each instructor completes, the overall friendliness and warmth of Bar Method studios, and the quick results you will see in your body and mind, all come together to create a highly effective fitness discipline.

There are two areas I would recommend adult ballet dancers carefully watch in Bar Method classes: the possible over development of the quadriceps and the under development of the feet and ankle muscles. Bar Method will shape and build the quadriceps intensely and in ballet you do not want to let these muscles take over in any leg movements. You need them of course to a certain extent in ballet, but the inner thigh muscles and transverse abdominis should be a greater priority of engagement when moving the legs. Also, there is not a great deal of time in Bar Method class dedicated to the strengthening of the feet and ankles, at least not the kind of superhero type foot and ankle strength and endurance that ballet requires. Just be sure to work your feet and ankles enough in ballet classes and at home, because your newly developed sculpted Bar Method leg, torso, and arm muscles will need an extra strong base of support for dancing.

Ready to improve your ballet dancing? Bar Method in St. Louis offers an excellent and welcoming group of teachers and beautiful studios in the neighborhoods of Town & Country and Brentwood. Bar Method St. Louis offers 70 classes a week from the early morning to the early evening hours. Owner and instructor Jessica Prasse is truly an inspiration and has attracted a large group of dedicated and enthusiastic clients who are happily addicted to Bar Method. People like to celebrate their birthdays at Bar Method St. Louis classes where you might get an extra set of push ups or thigh work as a special treat! Class prices at the St. Louis studios range from approximately $7/class to $20/class depending on the class package you purchase and how often you attend.

There are also Bar Method studios across the country and in Canada. Class prices range from less than $10 a class to approximately $37 a class depending on where you are in the country, what class package you purchase, and how often you take class.

Bar Method FAQ
Bar Method Online Videos
Overview of Bar Method exercises

Happy dancing and Bar Method-ing for many more years!

Photos: Bar Method Headquarters. Featuring Bar Method Founder Burr Leonard.

Summer fun for kids at the Sheldon Art Galleries

SheldonArtGalleriesEnjoy “Summer Craft Days for Kids” at the Sheldon Art Galleries, Saturdays through August 9, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. Children 3 years old through teens can create crafts and participate in a scavenger hunt in the galleries. Suggested donation is $3 per child for crafts. Admission to the galleries and scavenger hunt are free.

Crafts may include necklaces, bracelets, lanyards with washers and nuts, buttons with paint markers, key chains with beads and plastic cording, and muffin cup flowers.

While you’re there, be sure to view the exhibition, “The City at 250: A Citywide Celebration in Photography.” The show features 100 photographs drawn from a citywide photo contest organized by the Sheldon Art Galleries and the St. Louis Beacon. Amateur photographers, professionals, and children were invited to send in photos in the categories of places and architecture, neighborhood and events, and people.

Questions? Contact the Sheldon Art Galleries at 314.533.9900.

Photo: The Sheldon Art Galleries

Zoppé: An Italian Family Circus with Nino the Clown

Clown Jay Walter (bottom) controls the rope while his wife, Tosca Zoppé performs her aerial routine at the Zoppé Family Circus in Westhampton Beach, July 25, 2013. Photo by Jeffrey Basinger / Newsday
Clown Jay Walter (bottom) controls the rope while his wife, Tosca Zoppé performs her aerial routine at the Zoppé Family Circus in Westhampton Beach, July 25, 2013. Photo by Jeffrey Basinger / Newsday

Remember beloved Nino the Clown from Circus Flora performances? See him and the entertaining Zoppè Family Circus at the 2014 Florissant Valley of Flowers Festival, Friday, May 2 at 7 pm and Saturday, May 3 at 11 am, 2 pm, and 5 pm. Look for the Big Top located at Florissant Valley Park at the James J. Eagan Center, Parker Road and Waterford Drive. Free admission to all performances. For more information, call the Florissant Civic Center Box Office, 314.921.5678.

The Zoppè Family Circus welcomes guests into the intimate 500 seat tent (no seat is further than 20 feet from the action) for a one-ring circus that honors the best history of the Old-World Italian tradition. Starring Nino the clown, the circus is propelled by a central story that feature acrobatic feats, equestrian showmanship, cainine capers, clowning, and plenty of audience participation. Giovanni Zoppè, the sixth-generation circus performer who plays Nino, says the show aims higher than what passes for circuses these days. “We try to touch every emotion during the show,” he says. “They’ll laugh, they’ll cry, and they’ll feel for the characters. It’s more of an event than a show.”

The Zoppè Family Circus emerged from humble beginnings more than 160 years ago to become one of the legendary circuses in all of Europe.

See these wonderful photos of the Zoppè Family Circus from Jeffrey Basinger.

Learn more about the Zoppè Family Circus:

 

 

The Science of the Circus

ScienceoftheCircusDo you have circus fans in your family? Circus Flora and the Academy of Science St. Louis present “The Science of the Circus” on Saturday, April 12, 12:30 to 2 pm, at Bumbershoot Aerial Arts. This fun and interactive event demonstrates the science behind exciting circus acts. From 12:30 to 1 pm, guests can participate in hands-on activities including juggling, discovering the neuroscience of card tricks, and trying mini-experiments exploring force, momentum, and balance. The performance portion of the event begins at 1 pm and features a narrator discussing concepts of body movement and mechanics while aerialists demonstrate on different types of apparatuses. This unique and engaging event is free, open to the public, and perfect for children and adults of all ages. Free parking is available next to the building.

Also a reminder, tickets for Circus Flora’s stellar summer performances are on sale now. Reserve your seat today!

Photo: Academy of Science – St. Louis

Family Friendly Theater Events

Here are some great live theater events to take your family to in the next few weeks.

1. Diavolo: Friday, February 28 at 8 pm; Saturday, March 1 at 2 pm and 8 pm
The Minneapolis Star Tribune calls dance company, Diavolo, ““A wild mash-up between Cirque du Soleil and American Gladiators with Vegas-style showmanship.” The company is one of the West Coast’s most prominent dance companies and a designated cultural treasure of the City of Los Angeles. Composed of modern dancers, athletes, gymnasts, ballet dancers, martial artists, actors, and stunt performers, Diavolo pushes the boundaries of dance through its dynamic movement and signature use of colossal set pieces, including skateboard ramps, a 15-foot staircase, an 18-foot aluminum and steel spinning wheel, and a giant cube that turns into a pyramid. A Dance St. Louis presentation. Approximate run time is 90 minutes with one intermission. Best for children 6 years old and up.

Touhill Performing Arts Center
Tickets $33 to $55

 

2. The Tortoise and the Hare: Friday, February 28 at 7 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm)
The Imaginary Theatre Company produces wonderful children’s productions with great singing, dancing, and humor. This well known Aesop’s fable springs to life in a fun new musical adaptation. Henry is a racer, one of the fastest bunnies the forest has ever seen. Shelly’s a tortoise, his quietly devoted best friend. Henry has always been the star of the show, until one day Shelly starts to have some dreams of her own. With the help of their forest friends, Shelly realizes her own worth and Henry finds out that sometimes being the best isn’t the most important thing. Best for children 5 to 8 years old (who can stay up late!). Approximate run time is 45 minutes.

St. Louis County Public Library Headquarters, Main Reading Room
FREE

TortoiseandtheHare

 

3. The Ugly Duckling & The Tortoise and the Hare: Friday, March 21 at 7:30 pm; Saturday, March 22 at 2 pm; Sunday, March 23 at 2 pm
Lightwire Theater, in conjunction with Corbian Visual Arts and Dance, bring their use of cutting edge technology, moving sculpture, and dance to an unforgettable theatrical experience. The Ugly Duckling and The Tortoise and the Hare use Corbian’s signature electroluminescent puppetry. Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling has helped generations of children understand one of humanity’s universal struggles. Lightwire Theater brings this classic story to the modern stage offering hope to us all as we root for the ugly duckling who exemplifies resilience and heroism along the way to becoming a beautiful swan. Aesop’s fable, The Tortoise and the Hare, now more than 2,500 years old, continues to drive home the time-tested adage, “Slow and steady wins the race.” Lightwire Theater, with its dazzling visuals, poignant choreography, and creative use of music ranging from classical to jazz to pop, literally brings these beloved tales into a new and brilliant light. Best for children 3 years old and up. Approximate run time is one hour.

Florissant Civic Center
Tickets $7

 

4. The Snail and the Whale: Saturday, March 22 at 2 pm and 5 pm; Sunday, March 23 at 1 pm and 4 pm
Tall Stories, last seen at COCA in the supremely entertaining production of The Gruffalo, present their latest collaboration with author Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler. Through songs and storytelling, The Snail and the Whale is about a tiny snail who takes a ride on the tail of a humpback whale. When the whale finds himself beached, he suddenly needs the help of his tiny passenger. How will the snail save him? This journey is presented through the eyes of an adventurous young girl and her seafaring father. Best for children ages 3 to 10. Approximate run time is 50 minutes.

COCA
Tickets $16 to $20

Top photo: Copyright Tall Stories

The Tortoise and the Hare

TortoiseandtheHareThe Missouri Humanities Council, First Bank, and Whole Foods Market, with Ready Readers and the Imaginary Theatre Company present “The Tortoise and the Hare” on Sunday, January 26, 2014, 1 to 3:30 pm, Clayton High School Commons, 1 Mark Twain Circle, Clayton.

Starting at 1 pm, children ages 3 to 10, can participate in fun interactive activities, face painting, a magician, clowns, and more. The performance of “The Tortoise and the Hare” begins at 2:30 pm.

Tickets are $12 per person in advance and $15 per person at the door. Purchase your tickets securely online. For group reservations, contact Lisa Greening at lisa@readyreaders.org. Questions? Call 314.564.8070.

The Tortoise and the Hare, a production of The Imaginary Theatre Company
One of Aesop’s fables springs to life in this fun new musical adaptation. Henry is a racer, one of the fastest bunnies the forest has ever seen. Shelly’s a tortoise, his quietly devoted best friend. Henry has always been the star of the show, until one day Shelly starts to have some dreams of her own. With the help of their forest friends, Shelly realizes her own worth and Henry finds out that sometimes being the best is not the most important thing. Run time is approximately 45 minutes. See photos from the production!

The Imaginary Theatre Company (ITC) is the resident, professional, touring ensemble of The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Through the use of literature, folk tales, fairy tales, and new adaptations of classic works, ITC is committed to providing the very finest in theater for young audiences and strives to bring quality performances to schools and community venues throughout the bi-state area.

Ready Readers
Ready Readers is a St. Louis-based nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring preschool age children from low-income communities to love books and to have the emergent literacy skills necessary to become readers when they enter kindergarten. Trained, passionate volunteers read high-quality books aloud to the same classroom of children for 30 minutes every week, and then provide stimulating reading-related activities. Six times during each school year and once during the summer, the volunteer readers also distribute new books for each child to take home and keep.

Photo: Imaginary Theatre Company

Coloring & Drawing Books for Kids

I know… all kids really need are some leftover scraps of paper and a pencil to “create,” but sometimes it’s fun to engage them with books that spark their imagination a bit. Here are some of my favorites coloring and drawing books–perfect for gift giving.

The_Giant_Play_and_Learn_Book

1. The Giant Play and Learn Book by Pascale Estellon. This colorful book has hours of playful activities that focus on letters, numbers, reading, writing, shapes, colors, sorting, counting, sequencing, matching, patterning, and grouping. There are also 250 stickers included. Some of the sticker pages encourage kids to decorate a dinner plate, create vegetable people, and match garden tools. Ages 3 and up.

lotsofthingstofindandcolor

2. Lots of things to find and color by Stella Bagott. This Usborne Activities book features mainly black and white drawings with instructions on each page to find something specific and color it in. For instance, on one page a child has to find the finished face in each row of monsters and color it in, and then, she can finish drawing the incomplete faces in the row. Some tasks are easier, like “color in all the spooky eyes” or “find all the striped fish and color them in.” There are maze, pattern, and matching activities as well. Perfect for a cartoon lover! Ages 4 and up.

guido

3. Guido’s Great Coloring and Drawing Book by Guido van Genechten. I’m a big fan of Guido van Genechten’s books, so this book was extra special to delve into. The humorous drawing activities give kids opportunities to finish pictures, count, imagine, color, design, and study expressions. Some examples include, “add about 827 dots,” “make the tiniest drawing you have ever made,” “give this moose huge horns,” “draw the shark that is chasing this little fish,” “make this spiral as big as you can,” “we’re on Mars… draw the martians,” and much more. Ages 5 and up.

letsmakesomegreatart

4. Let’s Make Some Great Art by Marion Deuchars. This book has more specific art concepts and introductory information about famous artists, but does so with a casual and entertaining approach. For instance, the section on Matisse’s cutouts has instructions on how to make a Matisse-inspired collage but then also features pages of Mattise cut out type shapes and asks the child to draw figures looking out of the “windows” or to turn the shapes into characters with arms and legs. Other artists presented in the book include Leonardo da Vinci (form, shading, upside-down drawing), Pablo Picasso (Cubism, African masks), Vincent Van Gogh (yellow ocher, color wheel), Magritte (Surrealism, dreams), and many more. There are also projects for younger children like fingerprint paintings, ink blots, collage, drawing with an eraser, and experimenting with lines. Ages 5 and up.

thecoloringbook

5. The Coloring Book by Hervé Tullet. Filled with big and bold lines, this book is filled with abstract shapes, curves, loops, superheroes, letters, patterns, flags, houses, and much more. Instructions on some pages ask the user to, “find and color in the word hello,” “draw colored circles around the black dots,” “color in what you like to eat,” and “what are the right colors for happy people… and for sad people?” Ages 3 and up.