Are You Feeling 'Ish-Ish' Today

Peter Reynold's is definitely one of my favorite children's authors with Ish being one of my favorites. I have read the book Ish to my children from the time they were very small so as to instill in them that art is all about your feeling, your 'Ish-ish' moments. As we've study the great artists of the early Renaissance much of their art work was replication of those who have gone before or commissioned and not always a true expression of themselves.
Ish gives children, and we as the adults who guide them, a look at a completely different attitude towards their own ability in artistic matters.

We have all felt that insecurity with our own ability on many occasions. Ramon loved to draw. He was drawing a vase, when his older brother Leon laughed, saying his drawing didn’t look like anything.

With his feelings painfully hurt,Ramon was going to abandon drawing altogether, when his little sister came along. She had put his crumpled picture on the wall of her room. Marisol loved his work. She told Ramon that his vase look "Well, it looks vase-ISH!”


Ramon began looking at his drawings in a new way. “Thinking ish-ly allowed his ideas to flow freely.” He later even writes what he isn’t sure his poem is a poem but it certainly FELT poem-ish.

Part of the beauty of the book is the illustrations, as they portray the concept well. The illustrations are by no stretch of the imagination photo-illustrations of people. However, they certainly convey the idea they are meant to represent, and they are definitely beautiful. They are what make this book so wonderfully amazing to me. Simplistic and meaningful without distracting.

This book will help kids and grown-ups live life a little more ish-ly. I tend to pull this book out when one of the kids are feeling apprehensive about their ability to write a stories or tackling something new.

We actually read it before we started the Artist Pursuit Curriculum because I didn't want the children feeling over whelmed by the magnificent work of the Greats and left feeling that 'that' is true art work when really it's all about being ishy. I'm sure Picasso looked very ishy to many people!

The Dot is a sequel to Ish and is equally delightful. Now go and have a look at the Reynolds family book shop called The Blue Bunny. I love children's books stores and this one looks like my dream!!!

Also, while your there check out his Eight Tips for Creative Publishing for all you budding Children's Book writers out there.





If you need a gift for a baby-shower or new grandmother Someday is the book. While it's a children's book the sentiment expressed in it is felt more by us as parents or grandparents. I tear up every time I read it. It's beautiful.

Now go and unleash the Ish in yourself!!!