Photoplay! Doodle, Design, Draw by M.J. Bronstein, 128 pp, RL: ALL AGES

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Photoplay! Doodle, Design, Draw by M.J. Bronstein is the coolest doodle book I have seen in  quite a while! Bronstein, who is known for her hand-colored images and work with the photographic negative is also an art educator at ArtLab, a hands-on education program at the center for Maine Contemporary Art. Her website, This Playground, a fantastic resource. Besides the chance to see Bronstein's photographs, she also shares her inspirations, pages to print out and doodle at home, and a gallery of photoplay sent in by fans of the book! Best of all, Photoplay! Doodle, Design, Draw is perfect for little artists who may be too young for the equally engaging (but requiring a bit more skill) 642 Things to Draw and 712 More Things to Draw.


What makes Photoplay! Doodle, Design, Draw, so special and worthwhile is the creative combination of images and prompts that Bronstein gives young doodlers. The large format of the book itself (11 x 9 inches) gives kids lots of room to express their imagination on the page. Photos and text prompt doodlers to create a cake, help design a robot, and several photographs of buildings, mostly old and European looking, encourage artists to add a wave of butterflies, zombies and imaginary friends. Photographs of cats looking out of various windows and empty windows also invite imaginative responses. But, rather than take my word for it, enjoy a few pages from the book! And be sure to visit This Playground
!






Left page: Java is bored. Draw him some toys to play with. Right page: Cleo and Chloe are not bored. What are they playing with?



Meet your new friends! What are their names? Could this be you?


Left Page: What is inside of Jake's camera? Right Page: Gracie loves to gaze at her garden in the spring.


Completed pages from the gallery at This Playground




Source: Review Copy

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