Draw! by Raul Colon. 2014

What is a Quick Pick Book?

Draw! by Colon, Raul  — Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2014--E-; Int Lvl: K-3 In this wordless picture book, a boy who is confined to his room fills his sketch pad with lions and elephants, then imagines himself on a safari.

Rationale: Introducing Quick Pick books! I’ve already described Wisdom Books in an earlier lengthy post. Sometimes a book just doesn’t fit into an established curricular box, but is so good that I want to share it. However, because it is not specifically curricula based, I won’t be providing a whole lesson or story hour, but an assortment of ideas that teachers or librarians could use when looking for a Quick Pick. Draw! Is just such a book. This wordless book tells a story about a young book illustrator. With whom and how can this title be shared?

1. With my art teacher, one of my favorite teachers, who is always receptive to new ideas and new books. She features a different artist or style or technique each month with each grade K-8. By the end of eight years at my small private school, her students have an appreciation for a wide variety of art and artists.
1. Raul Colon could become one of her artists of the month. Share all of his books that are available. Note the realistic style and the media used. Colon uses pen and ink, watercolors, Prismacolor pencils and lithograph pencils.
2. Supply a notepad for students to draw their own art fanciful biography.
3. How visually alert are students? Look for whimsical details about Colon or about the animals. Will anyone note that gorillas are not usually found in the African grasslands? But when the story is fanciful, they just could show up.
2. With my language arts teachers, especially the middle school language arts teachers.
1. Provide the teacher with a variety of wordless picture books from the collections.
2. Encourage the teacher to have students write the story for the wordless books.
3. Word process the stories, exchange the stories with another class and have the new group illustrate the story. Compare the student art interpretation with the original.
4. Use Draw! to model the process.
3. With teachers whose classes are studying animals, specifically African animals.
1. At my small private school, each grade studies the geography of one continent. When the study includes African animals, Draw! is a fun fanciful title to pair with the more serious factual books about the animals.
2. Supply both fiction and fact books about African animals.
4. With teachers whose students may be studying Ruth Law, Marie Tharp, Don Quioxite, or American symbols and presidents by encouraging using Colon’s titles listed in the Related Books section.
5. With librarians or teachers who want to do a story hour about real and imaginary safaris. Build the hour around Draw! and the first three books in the Related Books list below.

Related Books:

Way far away on a wild safari by Peck, Jan — Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2006. Dewey: -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 1.6. A young boy imagines going on a wild safari and seeing zebra, giraffe, elephant, and lion.

Sophie's animal parade by Dixon, Amy — Sky Pony Press, 2015. Dewey: -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.6. Everything Sophie draws becomes real, so when she feels lonely she begins drawing animals that come to life, but she still has no one to play with until a boy appears, all on his own.

Chalk by Thomson, Bill — Amazon Children's Pub., 2010. Dewey: -E-; Int Lvl: K-3. A wordless picture book about three children who go to a park on a rainy day, find some chalk, and draw pictures that come to life.

Raul Colon Books:

Good-bye, Havana! Hola, New York! by Colon, Edie Audiobook (CD) — Recorded Books, LLC, 2013. Dewey: -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.8.  The story in which six-year-old Gabriella and her parents move from Cuba to New York City in 1960 after Fidel Castro's government takes over their restaurant.

Fearless flyer : Ruth Law and her flying machine by Lang, Heather — Calkins Creek, an imprint of Highlights, 2016. Dewey: 629.13; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.8.  A picture book that describes Ruth Law's cross-country flight from Chicago to New York State.

Solving the puzzle under the sea : Marie Tharp maps the ocean floor by Burleigh, Robert — Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2016. Dewey: 526; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 4.4. Tells the story of oceanographic cartographer Marie Tharp and her work charting the ocean floor.

Miguel's brave knight : young Cervantes and his dream of Don Quixote by Engle, Margarita — Peachtree, 2017. Dewey: 811; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 5.3. A collection of illustrated poems about the childhood of Miguel de Cervantes and his character Don Quixote.

America the beautiful : together we stand by Bates, Katharine Lee — Orchard Books, 2013. Dewey: 973; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 5.4. May include collectible poster of forty-four presidents. An illustrated presentation of the complete lyrics of "America the Beautiful" with inspiring presidential quotes, ten national landmarks and symbols, and more. Each of our presidents has had a unique vision of America. In AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL, these ideas are translated into gorgeous illustrations by such top artists as Bryan Collier, Jon J Muth, Diane Goode, Mary GrandPre, Raul Colon, Sonia Lynn Sadler, Yuyi Morales, John Hendrix, LeUyen Pham, and Chris Soentpiet. Each of these talented illustrators has found a unique way to interpret the values and beliefs that have built our great country.

Always my dad  . DVD — GPN, c1996 p2003. Dewey: -E-; Int Lvl: K-3. Introductions to a single parent family and a boy who participates in the Big Brother program, and reviews of related books.