Let's paint by Alborozo

Allen and Unwin, 2013. ISBN 9781743313695.
(Age: 3+) Picture book. Art. Experimenting. This joyous colour filled book that will encourage and delight young readers to try something for themselves will be a hit amongst parents and early childhood teachers alike.
From the different coloured dog prints on the front endpapers through all the different experiments with paints and paint brushes and canvasses through to the endpapers showing coloured human foot prints, the book encourages children to try their hand at painting.
Faced with a blank canvas and a handful of paint, the question is what if I make a mistake. The answer that there are no mistakes in art can be very salutary to the young beginner. Then ideas crowd in as the reader is told that ideas come from anywhere, they can be big or small, uninvited or collected. From there the reader is shown a variety of different methods with some pages hinting at the artist who used this technique. The author then shows the reader that it can be scary or embarrassing, but whatever, it is important that the painter has fun!
The lightly sketched illustrations do not overwhelm, the colour is filled with fun and interest, inviting the reader to run out and get some paint and get painting.
Fran Knight