Kids who push boundaries are challenging for parents, but they make for the most joyous picture books. One of my absolute favourites is I Am An Artist by Marta Altés, which sees a little boy lament his mother’s lack of artistic vision. Where he sees himself pushing his creative boundaries, experimenting with texture, colour and form; his mother sees a little terror causing chaos. Our young hero decides that his mother must be feeling neglected by his focus on his art, and decides to create something truly special to show how much he loves her.
The first time I read I Am An Artist by Marta Altés to my daughter I was giggling too much to be able to read coherently. I know we’re not meant to use the word as parents, but it was the sheer naughtiness of the boy’s creative experiments combined with his art critic narrative analysis that got me. His calmly oblivious ponderings as his mother runs around trying to save their home from destruction. That and the look of shock and awe on my daughter’s face when she saw the final artwork. It definitely puts my own children’s experiments with wall scribblings in perspective.
If you’re looking for a picture book for a young artist, or a child with a sense of mischief, then I think this is one of the funniest picture books in the world. It’s short enough to be manageable for the most rushed bedtime, and like some of the greatest picture books, the illustrations tell as much of the story as the words themselves. Parents will especially enjoy the son’s assessments of his mother’s own artistic experiments…. The whole book is filled with wicked good humour and I wouldn’t be without it on our shelves.
Picture Book Dragons 