Drawing Lessons from a Bear

by David McPhail

Book Overview

A young bear begins to make claw marks on the floor during his usual "how to be a bear" lessons. Soon he's collecting paper and drawing rocks, trees, clouds, birds, and even dinosaurs as he dreams of becoming an artist. With characteristic whimsey and lively watercolors, David McPhail portrays the unusual life of an artist who just happens to have been a bear, and tells how you can be an artist, too.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316563455
• ISBN13: 9780316563451
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.3" x 10.3"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Drawing Lessons from a Bear

My Very favorite children's author & illustrator!! And this Tues with my other Favorite book by him. Incredible story and illustrations!! Good for EVERY age !!! Love it !!

for the young artists, a lovely story

The illustrations are good and the message is sweet and self-affirming--this bear's true love is to draw. He is proud and committed to be an artist.

Critical Review for Drawing Lessons From a Bear

Throughout life, people have many different ambitions. Some begin thinking about these during childhood, through simple daydreams that they have about different occupations. It may seem to some that a child's catch phrase is, "I want to be a ____ when I grow up." Whether or not they achieve these goals is not what is important. What is important is that they realize that they can be whatever they want, as long as they try hard for it. In Drawing Lessons From a Bear, David McPhail portrays this reoccurring theme. He shows that one can be anything they want to be, despite their race, gender, religion, or background. This book is about a bear whose mother gives him lessons on "how to be a bear." While learning who he is, he begins doodling in the sand. The next thing he knows, his meaningless marks turn into actual pictures. He says, "At first the drawings did not look like much, but the more I drew, the better my drawings looked" (McPhail). As time goes on, he begins spending his free time drawing. While his mother and some others bears are at the dump looking for something to eat, he spends his time looking for scraps of paper that he can use for drawing. While he is in class learning to read and write, he sits in the back of the room and draws. He draws all during the day and at night. Through all of this, he receives support and encouragement from his mother and from his teacher. "She [his mother] was so pleased that she put it [his drawing] on the wall of our den" (McPhail). His teacher also encourages him, even when he draws during class. Encouragement from family and friends is one of the most important ways to help a child carry out his/her ambitions. Without encouragement, a child will not be as motivated to carry out his/her dreams. Encouragement and motivation will take a child a long way. David McPhail does an excellent job of teaching children that they can do what they want by using a bear as the main character. Through his own life experiences, this friendly bear shows that with a little time and dedication, one can be what they want to be. He uses his life as an artist as his example, but when he says, "Just as you can be an artist if that's what you want to be," he is using an artist to symbolize any dream that a child may want to fulfill. He also uses drawing to symbolize any child's ambition when he says, "If you love to draw and you'd rather spend your time drawing than doing just about anything else, I'd say you're well on your way." In this statement, he encourages children to take their talent and do the best that they can with it. The main theme of this book is summed up in one part of the book. The bear states, "For I am a bear. I am content to live in my den in the forest and draw pictures. I was born a bear, and I will always be a bear. But I am an artist, too, because that is what I have decided to be." Here he shows that he has accepted who he is, and he knows that he cannot change the fac

Inspiration for budding artists

This book is one part autobiography, one part art class and two parts inspiration. McPhail portrays the life of an artist through the story of a bear with an artistic bent. From the time he was just a cub in the woods, little bear dreamt of being an artist. He found he could not stop drawing, whether it be making claw mark portraits in the dirt or using a burnt stick to render landscapes on paper foraged at the local dump. As his talent grows, so do his opportunities, and soon the bear is plying his craft for kings, queens and presidents.Just as art can be found anywhere, so can artists. That's the moral McPhail hopes to impart with this book: you can be an artist if that's what you want to be. All you have to do is say it, "I am an artist." Children will get the message that, like the bear, they too can nurture their talents.McPhail's drawing techniques are illustrated on the flyleaf of the book. His softly colored pencil drawings between the covers are warm and sweet. A good book to encourage budding artists.

An encouraging tale of accomplishment.

A young bear's claw marks on the floor leads to drawing lessons and dreams of becoming an artist in this gentle story of a bear's evolving artistic talents, from cubhood through school to adulthood. Kids with simple reading skills will find this an encouraging tale of accomplishment.