The Art Lesson: A Shavuot Story

by Allison Marks, Wayne Marks, Annie Wilkinson (Illustrator)

Overview

Shoshana loves spending time at Grandma Jacobs' art studio and for Shavuot, Grandma Jacobs has a very special art project in mind! Shoshana learns how to make papercuts by carefully folding squares of paper and cutting shapes out of them. But can she create works of art as beautiful as the ones Grandma makes?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467781732
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/01/2017
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	AD680L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 7 Years

About the Author

Allison Marks worked for over two decades as the librarian at Temple Israel in Akron, Ohio. She also reviewed Jewish children's books for the Association of Jewish Libraries newsletter. Alongside her husband, she has co-written multiple books, such as Og's Ark and The Art Lesson.

Wayne Marks has worked as a proofreader and copywriter for 30 years. Wayne plays fiddle in a local Irish group and writes and records novelty tunes with the band, The Brothers Marks, played on the Dr. Demento Show and other podcasts. Together with his wife, he has co-written award-winning children's books.

Annie Wilkinson, the youngest of eight children and the mother of two, was raised in Saskatchewan. She works in a variety of mediums including traditional and digital, creating bright and whimsical illustrations for both books and products. She also has a background in design and as a fine artist, two skills that she calls upon quite frequently when illustrating. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Editorial Reviews

"The Art Lesson: A Shavuot Story by Allison and Wayne Marks, illustrated by Annie Wilkinson. Shoshana’s grandma is an artist, with bright red cat-eye glasses and a cat named Krasner. Every Thursday after school, Shoshana goes to her studio—'like an enchanted forest'—to do art. Grandma J calls her 'my little Chagall,' 'my little Modigliani,' and 'my little Pissarro'; Wilkinson’s simple, sweet illustrations contain nods to each of the artists mentioned. For Shavuot, Grandma J and Shoshana make papercuts. Grandma J creates beautiful roses and Torahs, but all Shoshana sees when she unfolds her paper are ugly holes. Grandma J teaches her to see visions in her abstractions: fields of flowers, schools of fish, honeycombs of bees. And many years later, when Shoshana is an artist herself, she teaches her own granddaughter the lessons of Grandma J. A short afterword explains Shavuot, mentions that Eastern European Jews used to make papercuts to hang in their windows for the holiday—who knew? —and gives instructions for a simple Star of David papercut. It also explains who the Jewish artists named in the text are…including Lee Krasner, who was not, in actual fact, a cat. (Ages 3-6)" - Tablet Mag

From the Publisher