Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Ages: 4 – 8 years
For my kids (and many others), making a mistake means crumpling up their bit of paper and starting again in frustration.
This can happen numerous times before deciding, ‘’I just can’t do it’’.
The Book of Mistakes delivers a very clear message that mistakes can be a blessing.
This book constantly seeks out the silver lining, turning ink smudges into leaves and covering an abnormally long neck with a quirky neckpiece.
I can’t wait to read my kids this book and use the concept of ‘’rolling with the punches’’ the next time they sit down to draw.
In a book that shows how mistakes can blossom into greatness, The Book of Mistakes introduces to kids (and even adults), the idea of putting one’s slip-ups into a new perspective.
“It started with one mistake. Making the other eye even bigger was another mistake. But the glasses, they were a good idea.’’
Over the following pages, mistake after mistake is transformed into a success and the picture begins to zoom out, increasingly filling up more of the page.
A lumpy elbow is transformed with decorative elbow patches. A frog-cat-cow thing made a very nice rock, and ‘’even the ink smudges scattered across the sky look as if they could be leaves – like they’d always wanted to be lifted up and carried.’’
The illustrations begin to zoom out with intricate details. We realize we were viewing the original girl character through a telescope perspective. As we zoom out more, there are some great creative surprises.
‘’Set your imagination free,’’ is written on the last page, as a young boy looks up at the ink smudges turned leaves, floating on a breeze.
This is a debut picture book by Corinna Luyken and I just adore it’s creativity, both with the illustrations and concept. It’s a great conversation starter and could be really applied as a metaphor for a lot of things in life, not just drawing.
The beginning of the story features large, white spaces that as the story progresses, fills up with intriguing and almost quirky drawings rendered in ink, colored pencil, and watercolor.
In a book that shows how mistakes can blossom into greatness, The Book of Mistakes is a memorable story about the creative process. It introduces to kids (and even adults), the idea of putting one’s slip-ups into a new perspective.
