Friday, December 17, 2010

Z-Dad's Fan Art

When it's time to work up another batch of Bookie Woogie reviews, the kids and I pile onto the couch with 2 to 4 choice books at a time.  Once we're all "reviewed out" we start the Drawing Party.  We head to the kitchen table, spread out the books for inspiration, and whip up some Fan Art.  Dad included.  It's a blast!  A whirlwind of paints and crayons and pencils.

Even though I make pictures along with the kids each time, I only post the kids' Fan Art with the reviews.  I want to make sure the emphasis of Bookie Woogie stays on children's responses to children's books.  There's a lot of behind the scenes work on my part, but I truly see this as the kids' blog.  A first time visitor even has to do a bit of hunting just to find out who "Z-Dad" really is.

However, the kids have bugged me many, many times over the years to post my drawings alongside theirs.  And the last time they asked, it dawned on me that I could work up a separate post as a place to share some of my Fan Art.  So here it is!

Don't worry, you're not going to see drawings from all 78 reviews so far -- I've just singled out a few highlights.  I've also included links back to the kids' original reviews if you want to revisit them.  And why not give it a try yourself?  Grab your kids!  Grab a book!  Make some Fan Art!



Shadow: Review #78




If You Lived Here You'd Be Home By Now: Review #59




Millie's Marvellous Hat: Review #58




The Cuckoo's Haiku: Review #56




The Lion and the Mouse: Review #54




Who Needs Donuts: Review #49




The Arrival: Review #37




Scribble: Review #31




A Curious Collection of Cats: Review #30




Babymouse: Review #25




Jazzmatazz: Review #21




Inkheart: Review #12




Hush Little Dragon: Review #11



***Update:  I've decided to keep adding to this post from time to time.  Here is some additional Fan Art I made with the kids...


A Book: Review #19




The Cinder-Eyed Cats: Review #63




Mirror: Review #74




A Pet for Petunia: Review #87




Fairly Fairy Tales: Review #90




Zita the Spacegirl: Review #92




Bone: Review #93




The Terrible Hodag: Interview #11




The Watcher: Review #105




Creepy Monsters Sleepy Monsters: Interview #12




Blue Chicken: Review #111




The Hobbit: Review #114

8 comments:

Terry Doherty said...

Wow, Z-Dad these are INCREDIBLE! I can see where the kids get their creative spirit.

Have you ever thought of illustrating? I LOVE them all but the blue jay is just beautiful.

Anonymous said...

This is great. I love knowing that you've been drawing with your kids all along! Of course, I think that ALL parents should do that...

Carrie said...

Oh, well,I'm glad you "gave in" to them. This was a fun post. I think my favorite is Gwin. I've never thought of doing something like this myself. Huh. My oldest is JUST starting to draw. Maybe we'll have to start doing this soon. I'll definitely keep it in mind!

Z-Kids said...

Yep Terry - I am an illustrator :) Ha ha... I guess my secret identity is intact.

One of the reasons I originally decided not to put my pictures beside the kids' art is because I didn't want to distract from them. I thought a professional illustrator's doodles would distract from their hard work. But honestly, after crafting this post and looking back at their pictures on the original reviews - I thought, MAN - the kids' art is usually better than mine! So now I just don't want to be shown up :)

And yes, I agree Deborah -- all parents ought to spend some time drawing with their kids! One doesn't have to be an illustrator to do so. Kids LOVE to draw with family. If it's fun, they'll do it, and if they do it, skills will naturally follow.

And it's also fun to experiment together. I don't consider myself a painter, and would never have tried that watercolor bluejay in the first place if not for Bookie Woogie.

Thanks for chiming in folks!
Z-Dad

Boni Ashburn said...

Aaron- Yours is good, but sorry, I still like Gracie's better ;) Kelly and I LOVED being dragon food!

gatheringwonder said...

great post

Lisa said...

Aaron, Thank you for sharing your Fan Art here...Maybe you could do that at least once a month--You could choose your favorite to share?

I understand you wanting to take a backseat, though. Thanks for encouraging all of us to get in on the Fan-Art-Making!

You, and your family, are gifted artists.

Tara Lazar said...

Love your fan art!