Art's Supplies
Grade 1–3—Bright colors, heavy doses of humor, and puns to make readers groan fill the pages as a boy's art supplies prepare for a personality-plus party. Tougas draws upon the tools of an art studio, loading each page with double meanings, e.g., "the pastels arrived. They blended in smoothly" or "the crayons rolled in…. Those guys sure know how to think outside the box." Art's endearing, off-centered features combine with google-eyed markers, crayons, boxes, brushes, tapes, scissors, and glue. Antics of the supplies create opportunities to display the use of various media and inject a frenzied levity in the world of the supplies. Brushes of paint whiz by in long swathes of color, made grainy by thinned bristles. Childlike pencil and crayon drawings propel readers into Art's imaginary world where he dips his toes in the rinse jars alongside the animated wide eyes of soaking brushes. This lively title is sure to be a favorite of youngsters learning to appreciate both subtle humor and engaging cartoon art.—Mary Elam, Forman Elementary School, Plano, TXCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.