Ralph Masiello's Farm Drawing Book (Ralph Masiello's Drawing Books)
This large-format book from Masiello’s dependable Drawing Book series demonstrates how to draw a number of barnyard animals and their surroundings. After a short greeting from “Farmer Ralph,” an attractive and useful “Choose your tools” feature shows seven choices (pastel pencil, crayon, watercolor, fine-tip marker, colored pencil, marker, and poster paint) and the line or look each medium creates. The main section of the book leads off with baby chicks shown from three perspectives, with 15 to 18 steps for drawing each one. Other subjects include a hen, rooster, chick, pig, goat, cow, horse, farmer, tractor, and barn as well as grass, haystacks, and hills. Every new line appears as a red addition to an increasingly complete picture. The book extends the farm theme eclectically with information, fiction, songs, crafts, and lists of books and websites, which appear on the last page. Aspiring artists will appreciate the book’s spacious format and Masiello’s wonderfully clear, easy-to-follow illustrations of drawings in progress. Grades 1-4. --Carolyn Phelan