Draw Your Day for Kids!: How to Sketch and Paint Your Amazing Life 

by Samantha Dion Baker

Hours of fun, art, and inspiration await in the kids' version of popular Instagram artist Samantha Dion Baker's Draw Your Day, an instructive and inspirational guide to keeping a daily sketch journal.

With an encouraging and kid-friendly tone, Baker shares the benefits of keeping an illustrated daily journal with young readers. Drawing daily is a relaxing and reassuring way to express yourself, as well as a practical way to hone art and observation skills and creativity. The book will also function as a time capsule, enabling kids to look back on their memories and feelings, as well as having a visual representation of their developing artistic abilities.

Adapted from the adult book with simplified text, kid-friendly art and prompts, and a built-in journal for kids to apply everything they've learned and create their own keepsake, Baker's signature illustrations inspire and demonstrate art techniques. With recommendations for materials, practice exercises, and ideas for inspiration, a budding artist could hardly wish for anything more.

• ISBN10: 0593378903
• ISBN13: 9780593378908
• Publish Date: 25 January 2022
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Crown Books for Young Readers
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 224
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780593378908

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Draw Your Day for Kids! is an upbeat art journaling guide with tutorials and prompts by Samantha Dion Baker. Due out 25th Jan 2022 from Penguin Random House on their Crown Books for Young Readers imprint, it's 224 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

This is a comprehensively written and engaging primer aimed at young readers (~8-12 years, lexile 970) with colorful prompts and tutorials to support and develop a journaling habit. The introductory chapters include the hows and whys of setting up and developing the habit of keeping a journal and using (and improving) it. The second section includes accessible suggestions and prompts for rendering letters, objects in our immediate vicinity, feelings, and quotes.

It should be noted that the content/art/instruction parts of the book cover 137 pages of the total page count and the rest of the book (including the e-book format) are blank and are intended to be used as a personal art journal. I found the author's art very pretty and professional, and I can imagine that setting my own scribbles on the same page as hers would be moderately intimidating because I hate "ruining" pages in books and still struggle with spontaneity as an adult.

This is an informal but also appealing, accessible, and useful resource. I would recommend it to journalers, as well as in classroom settings, sketching and nature activity groups, and the like.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes