Sky Color/International Dot Day 2019
Today is International Dot Day. What does that mean? It’s a day of creativity in celebration of Peter H. Reynolds’ The Dot, which is about a little girl who discovers she has a talent for creativity, even if she may not believe it at first. At its heart, The Dot encourages the reader to try something new and to believe in themselves. A wonderful day to celebrate!
When I first started Doctor Bookworm, I blogged about a day of creativity that we did in honor of International Dot Day. This book’s theme is close to my heart because while I never consider myself an artist (see, even I have issues with it), I am quite creative and crafty with projects. And I love using my imagination to problem solve any type of ‘art’ project. Even when I get frustrated.
Today, in honor of Peter H. Reynolds, I want to talk about another one of his books, Sky Color. In Sky Color, Marisol is an artist but she becomes stumped when she is helping to paint a school mural and there is NO BLUE PAINT FOR THE SKY! Marisol learns to problem-solve and come up with a creative solution for her problem. One of my favorite lines in this book is “her belief that everybody is an artist”. Reynolds illustrates in his signature style with a diverse crew of characters, mostly depicted in black and white, with touches of watercolor painting throughout. Sky Color is relatable, inspiring, and inclusive. Plus I love that all the students work together to make the school mural, not just the known ‘artist’ int the class.
Bottom Line: The Dot is about believing that you can be an artist even if you don’t believe in your abilities. Sky Color is about thinking outside the box with your creativity.
Little Lion Bookworm is painting a tree on International Dot Day. This picture warms my heart because like Vashti, Little Lion often doubts her ability to draw or paint. This summer she has been branching out (ha!) and doing it anyway. :D And, yes, that’s a cut-open brown grocery bag protecting the table. We do that all the time with our projects. I’m pretty sure that’s from my mom. (Per Little Lion, all the leaves have different magical properties, depending on their color. And I think her sky color in her painting is spot on.)
Tell Dr. Bookworm!
What is the last thing you did that was outside of your comfort zone? What made you decide to do it?
