All I See
Written By Cynthia Rylant
Pictures by Peter Catalanotto
WOW! The acrylic/ oil paintings in this picturebooks are terrific! I think Rylant's choice of a painter to illustrate her story was perfect! Catalanotto uses full bleed, unframed photos to allow the reader to fall in a state of tranqulity and mood for really enjoying Rylant's story. I know it may seem that painting pictures of a lake would in itself provide a mood of relaxation and contentment, but Catalanotto’s talent reaches beyond capturing the scenery of the lake. (Ah, a lake... is anyone else ready for Spring?) Catalanotto paints vivid, realistic pictures of Gregory, who is a painter himself in the story, as well as Charlie, a young child who is very curious and fond of Gregory and his paintings. Coupled with Rylant’s craft, the story tells how Charlie introduces himself to Gregory by sneaking up to his easel as Gregory floats along the lake in his daily canoe trip.
Like Charlie, I found myself intrigued about Gregory, particularly since he only paints blue whales. This would be a stellar read aloud choice in the classroom to model “I wonder” statements/ the thinking voice. Rylant skillfully moves her narrative story to allow a very natural fit of curiosity for her readers. Also, this text could also be used to introduce and discuss different character perspectives. I know it is developmentally appropriate for children to be egocentric, but I also think it is a valuable lesson to teach, and compare and contrast different viewpoints. Even though the artists (Gregory and Charlie) were standing side by side and “looking” at the same lake/ the same scenery, their paintings were vastly different. Of course my students could always benefit from discussing different perspectives, but I wonder if this text would be developmentally appropriate for my students. I wonder if I read this picture book aloud in my classroom what my 3rd graders discussion would consist of… I wonder what inferences they would create about Gregory. What would they think about a man who drew whales while “looking” at a lake? I am confident that every student in my class could connect to Gregory and recall a time when they saw something differently than friend, a parent, or a teacher; however, I don’t think that my students would make that text to self connection without prompting from me. Am I underestimating my third graders?
Home for the Holidays
I love going home to KY for the holidays. This photo was taken Christmas 06, I am with my nephew, John, niece, Grace, and 92 year old Grandfather. Isn't he handsome?
Aaron and I
This photo was taken at Aaron's promotion ceremony, August 2006. Days after he was promoted, he was deployed to Iraq. Thankfully, he is scheduled to return home in early March.
4 comments:
Your description of All I See by Cynthia Rylant motivates me to go seek out this book! I have not heard of this title. Based on your description, I just know that this would be a wonderful read aloud. I do understand your reservations about using it as a read aloud for 3rd graders. I agree though, that this picturebook would be a powerful way to teach students about multiple perspectives. Students should be challenged to visualize and use their imaginations to look at something in a different way. Children are often quite imaginative and creative, especially in the younger years. Hopefully, students can use their prior knowledge of fantasy and fairy tale stories to help them envision things differently. My first graders convey their imaginative thinking through their own illustrations and stories. All I See is a book that can be used to show students how artists and illustrators use their creativity and imagination to depict the world in a unique way. This quality is what sets successful artists and illustrators apart from the rest of us. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have that creative mind? I can't say that I do but I devote my time to appreciating those who do!
I am not familiar with the term 'full bleed' which you used in describing the artwork. I looked it up on the Internet; however, the descriptions left me no wiser than before I looked it up. What does 'full bleed' mean?
Thanks!
Good question, Ann. Full bleed means that the illustrations "are not framed, rather the illustrations go to the edge of all four sides of the pages." I found this description on page 25 of chapter 4 in Dr. Johnson's book. I wanted to tell you, a reader of my blog, how prominent the paintings were because they stretched from side to side of each page, so I tried using a new vocabulary word from our text. Sorry if that was confusing.
This sounds really unusual--it's a book about a painter. I think this would be so cool to use in an art class. The relationship between the boy and painter sounds interesting, too. Looking at the cover of it on Amazon.com, I think it appears to have a "dreamy" quality to it, sort of fuzzy. I will check this out at the library!
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