To Be an Artist

by Maya Ajmera, John D. Ivanko, Global Fund for Children

Children around the world express themselves through art, be it music, dance, visual arts, or theater. Beautiful photographs and lyrical text highlight the many ways art can bring us together.

A portion of the proceeds help support community-based projects benefiting children around the world.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Childrens

Paperback

First published February 1, 2004

About the author

Maya Ajmera is the founder of The Global Fund for Children. She is the co-author of several Global Fund for Children books, including FAITH, GLOBAL BABIES, CHILDREN OF THE U.S.A., and CHILDREN FROM AUSTRALIA TO ZIMBABWE.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually a global book, with pictures of kids from different countries exploring artistic talents. I was a little frustrated to see that the United States was represented on every single page spread, sometimes twice.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice book that shows many ways kids express themselves around the world.

[Zoe McCurley]

Summary:
To Be an Artist is a very informational book by Maya Ajmera that sparks creativity in readers. This is a nonfiction book so there is not much plot to it other than simply describing the different types of art and artists. Ajmera writes that art comes in many different forms including drawing, painting, dancing, singing, acting, writing, playing an instrument, and many more. The book inspires readers to find something they are passionate about and use it to make art because art is something that is celebrated and inspires others.

Response:
I enjoyed this book and learning new things from it. I think the best part of the book was the pictures of so many young kids doing things they are passionate about. It also showed children from many different cultures which demonstrated the beauty found in diversity. I love the message of teaching kids to find their passions and creativity and to be able to express themselves through different art forms. I think this is a great nonfiction book for children.

How I would use it:
This book does not have a ton of words. It is mostly pictures so I am not sure I would use it in therapy. If I were to have to find a way to use it, I may have clients point out different things they notice in the pictures and talk about them. This could target specific phonemes in spontaneous speech if we were working on articulation disorders or might also target conversation skills if the client had a language delay/disorder.

[The Styling Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

To Be an Artist by Maya Ajmera & John D. Ivanko, Foreward by Jacques d’Amboise founder of the National Dance Institute. Published in 2004. This is a beautiful book packed with gorgeous photographs that celebrate the wonder of creativity, using art to communicate, and being human. I love how this book celebrates art created all over the world, not just a specific art in a specific location. You’re brought to Tanzania, China, Columbia, France and the US celebrating creativity and expressing yourself in different ways. This book can help children think with an international minded reflecting on how people are creative around the world, expressing themselves, but there are things in common as well.IMG_1098The various world-wide instruments introduced as well as all the mediums were beautiful. When the book switches over to the different dance styles, the pictures pop off the page as you look at th various dance costumes the children dress in. The simple text of “To be an artist…” brings you through the book with various ways that people are artists. I thought it ws interesting that there are pictures from every continent but Australi is missed, since I have numerous colleagues and students from Australia and New Zealand, I bet that will come up in book browsing time!
This book popped up numerous times in review lists and IB, International Baccalaureatte, lists as well. Glad I took the time to read it!

[Hana Sm. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book describes what it takes to be an artist but uses words simple enough for a 4th grader and older to understand. The photos on each page show young and older children from many countries: Sweden, Jamaica, France, Nigeria, United States, Eritrea, Ukraine, Mauritania, Canada, South Africa, Slovak Republic, Tanzania, Philippines, Mexico, Bhutan, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Federated States of Micronesia, Finland, Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Iraq, Pakistan, Japan, Indonesia, etc.

The book has 28 pages-I'm not counting the title page. The book is exactly 8½ by 11 inches, which is the size of a sheet of paper.
On page 21 it says, "To be an artist means writing a poem or story...You can express many things with words. Poems, stories, and plays are all forms of art. Your poem or story can be published in a magazine or made into a book. Your play can be performed by actors on stage."
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This book would be a great tool to get ELL students to open up because at least one photo will look like them. If an ELL is having trouble with the English language, I would encourage him or her to paint or draw to express their feelings.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love photographs of people, especially, children, from around the world going about their daily routine. These photos show these children creating art: painting, making music, dancing, embroidering, weaving, acting, writing, and taking photographs. It's a very nice book. My one complaint is that there is at least one photo of US children on each page. That's too much! I would have liked to have seen more countries represented, and fewer pictures from the US! Other than that, though, it's a lovely book!

[(NS)Jordyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This amazingly photographed book shows children from around the world participating in various forms of art. The pictures, placed on the pages in a scrapbook-like way, are paired with descriptions of the different ways one can be an artist. This book would be great for use in the younger grades and a beautiful addition to any classroom library--especially those with children from various cultures in the classroom. Grades K-3.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful for cross cultural images