Beautiful Oops!
by Barney Saltzberg
Age: 3+, but 5-6 year olds should find it particularly inspiring
Interests: art, artists
Workman Publishing: 2010
boardbook – 28 pp.
Next: The Dot
A spill. A smear. A smudge. A tear. When you think you have made a mistake, think of it as an opportunity to make something Beautiful!
A simple, colourful little book, with spills, blotches, squiggles and rips transformed into lovely drawings of animals and birds. For anyone easily discouraged by “mistakes”, this should help inspire them to move beyond frustration to new ideas and triumphs.
This is really a book for all ages, but I think it is especially good for those early grades when kids may start to feel that they can’t make art, or just aren’t good enough. (Even though it looks like a preschoolish board book, my grade 2 girl brought it home from school, perfectly delighted with it.)
This is a perfect companion book to Peter Reynold’s marvellous The Dot.
Rarest Kind of Best 