Drawing From Memory

Back before I knew very much about childrens literature, I was introduced to Allen Say in a Childrens Lit course. Tea With Milk became a favorite of mine; I fell in love with the illustrations. I have read a few other books by Say, and was happy to see he had a new book out this past year, Drawing From Memory.

This is slightly different than Say's other work, as there are not full page pictures, but rather smaller, almost cartoon-style pictures on each page. Say shares his life story and what led him to become an artist.

This book is not only a great autobiography, it also is a nice story about one boy finding his passion in life and pursuing it, as well as how an artist was able to break into his profession and make it despite a great deal of competition and challenges along the way.

Although this would be a good read aloud, Drawing From Memory is fairly long and may have to be read in a few readings if used with students. They will also appreciate being able to see the illustrations up close to fully absorb the detail in Say's work.