Nature is an Artist

In a time when we are witnessing funding for the arts being constricted, it is good to know that literature for children will always be there to provide that rich connection. A dedication from Lavallee ‘To Terry and Fred, with love – for showing me there is wonder in all places if you only remember to look’ provides an insight into the main theme of this rhyming picture book.

Personified through a weaving of shades of green with rounded, rolling, grassy hair, Nature leads a small group of children of different skin colours from the title page into a richly-coloured landscape of rivers, mountains, forests and an underground cross-section. As Nature displays and plays with its creations so the children find themselves inspired to create too. This structure of Nature encouraging and modelling followed by a spread of a child creating something of their own based upon this inspiration continues throughout. When Nature shows a landscape rich in colours, the following spread shows a young child finger-painting and thumb printing with the same colours. Another spread displays Nature playing with ‘a fine collage’ of leaves and the following shows a different child cutting out and making shapes inspired by the display.

This pattern repeats throughout with Nature modelling and revealing the secrets within the landscape: a muse for the children. When, at nighttime, they finally arrive in their treehouse home all their creations can be seen on display above the mantlepiece: a nice touch. I especially liked Nature revealing the ‘fossilised impressions hidden underground’. The spread displayed beetles, seeds and shells hidden within soily depths whilst the following spread showed a child using same-shaped painted stamps to pattern some squared: a gentle invitation to use the natural resources that can lie at your feet.

This is a lovely book to share and I hope it inspires families and educators to try these ideas and thoughts with young children too. I would have liked to see, at the back of the book, some instructions on how the adult and child could make the same art as the children did throughout the book. Whatever the case, I have no doubt it will encourage young readers to see that they can all play at creating their own art.