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Mar 29, 2015forbesrachel rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
As a boy sits on his bed he starts to draw out his imaginary expedition to Africa. He draws himself drawing the animals he sees, including an zebras, gorillas, and lions (from a safe distance of course). While travelling with the elephant and bird he befriended, he captures some great shots of these creatures in their habitat, although he does have a close call with a charging rhino. The story is then capped by his return to his room. This frame is stylistically different than the rest, looking more like the pencil sketches in a sketchbook than the real world. His creations on the other hand are fully coloured with watercolours, and prismacolour pencils; the imaginary world looks more real than his own. This is a portrait of an ideal safari trip, in which the illustrations invoke thoughts of old photographs thanks to the grainy effect of the Arches paper. As a final touch, lines are etched into the surface to add subtle details, flow, and even movement. This book is wordless, creative, and a somewhat meta window into a young artists life. It is through him that we connect with the authors call to Draw! Here is a boy in his room using books as reference to churn out page after page. In fact, as Raul Colon states in his author's note, most artists start out by copying and learning from others. This too is the type of book that will make kids wonder, how did the artist do it, and can I do it as well?