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The Scraps Book.

The Scraps Book:  Notes From a Colorful Life by Lois Ehlert, published by Beach Lane Books.

Take a peak into an Artist’s Life.

The Scraps Book begins with this sentence:  “Don’t read this book (unless you love books and art) and that is a great way to start.  Lois has a passion for art and for books and that comes through in The Scraps Book.


Lois Ehlert has been writing books since she was a child.  She has written and illustrated 25 books of her own—pretty impressive.  Lois illustrated Chicka Chicka Boom Boom!  Have you and your boy enjoyed her books?  We have.  We especially liked The Leaf Man and Snowballs for their natural collage style.  Others we enjoyed are Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf and Planting a Rainbow.
Leaf Man Snowballs (Rise and Shine) Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf Planting a Rainbow

This is a lovely book that shares her life as an artist and author/illustrator.  She tells of being little and thinking that maybe someday she could make a book.  She had supportive parents and was given a place to work and supplies to work with.  (What can you do today to support your boy’s artistic endeavors?)

Lois tells so much about how a book comes to be in The Scraps Book that it would be wonderful just for that aspect.  However, there is so much more.  She talks about process, about words, about where her story ideas come from.  She gives us a peak into her artistic world. She says she is messy when she works and shows an illustration to match this with scraps stuck to the bottom of her shoes.  I found it all very fascinating.

My favorite quote from the book is:

I created lots of art, though not for books right away.  But I didn’t worry.  Everyone needs time to develop their dreams.  An egg in the nest doesn’t become a bird overnight.”

Her illustration style is scrappy and collage-oriented with lots of color and shapes.  One thing that I have always enjoyed is her tendency to include images of real items scattered amongst her lovely creations.

If you have a boy who enjoys art, nature, books, animals or many other things 🙂 You should take a look at this book together.  I have read it through several times just to soak it all in.  I just love the way she wrote this book to be interesting, informative and oh so enjoyable to read and look at.  Time to break out the collage materials!  Highly Recommended.

The Scraps Book: Notes from a Colorful Life

Find other great books for boys in the Boys’ Book Review section of the site.