This enticing, inspiring book begins with a discussion about drawing. Drawing is not "a contest," "a waste of time," or only for the "talented ones"; drawing is a way to "explore, think and feel, experiment and question." Outlined in the table of contents as individual chapter headings are Elizabeth Haidle's tenets of drawing: "traveling, wondering, focusing, feeling, growing, not-knowing, and magic."
Readers are invited to take the pressure off and begin with just two things: a dot, which is "like a point on a map," and a line, which "takes you... somewhere." Haidle (Before They Were Artists) invites young creators on "scribbled adventures," smoothly integrating technical considerations such as scale, contrast, texture, and pattern. The author/illustrator wonderfully presents her introduction to drawing with strong-yet-delicate mixed media illustrations and mostly hand-lettered text. Drawing Is... promotes an inclusive, purposefully unintimidating approach by focusing on the process rather than the product, and offers all the encouragement that anyone who blinks, breathes, and reads--or listens to someone reading--might need to open a sketchbook and give drawing a try! --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author