Product Description

With little more than some ink, paper, and your own fingers, you canbecome an artist! Caldecott recipient Ed Emberley, author of Go Away, Big Green Monster!, aswell as many creative art books (Ed Emberley's Great Thumbprint DrawingBook, Ed Emberley'sDrawing Book: Make a World, etc.), shows readers how to turnfingerprints into lions, basketball players, reindeer, "bean buddies,"submarines, rainbow dragons, trees, even watermelon. Emberley providesstraightforward information about materials and techniques on the very firstpage, then sets readers free to discover and explore. Step by step, Emberleytakes artists through the process, showing, for each picture, a fingerprintfirst, then adding simple lines and other fingerprints to make the print evolveinto an entirely new entity. A mouse, for example, starts out as a brown ovalfingerprint. Next, two pink fingertip-print ears are added. A black dot makes anose. Two smaller dots become the eyes, and finally a few lines turn this blobinto a bewhiskered mouse head. Young artists can spend hours creating designs,patterns, and decorative scenes with this fun technique, especially if they moveon to advanced finger-printing on the last page. (Ages 4 to 8) --EmilieCoulter

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #229700 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 48 pages

From Amazon.com
With little more than some ink, paper, and your own fingers, you can become an artist! Caldecott recipient Ed Emberley, author of Go Away, Big Green Monster!, as well as many creative art books (Ed Emberley's Great Thumbprint Drawing Book, Ed Emberley's Drawing Book: Make a World, etc.), shows readers how to turn fingerprints into lions, basketball players, reindeer, "bean buddies," submarines, rainbow dragons, trees, even watermelon. Emberley provides straightforward information about materials and techniques on the very first page, then sets readers free to discover and explore. Step by step, Emberley takes artists through the process, showing, for each picture, a fingerprint first, then adding simple lines and other fingerprints to make the print evolve into an entirely new entity. A mouse, for example, starts out as a brown oval fingerprint. Next, two pink fingertip-print ears are added. A black dot makes a nose. Two smaller dots become the eyes, and finally a few lines turn this blob into a bewhiskered mouse head. Young artists can spend hours creating designs, patterns, and decorative scenes with this fun technique, especially if they move on to advanced finger-printing on the last page. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly
Ed Emberley adds to his popular drawing books series with his paper-over-board Ed Emberley's Fingerprint Drawing Book. An opening spread describes the necessary "ingredients" for using fingertips as paintbrushes (inkpads, poster paints, food coloring, etc.); in the following spreads, Emberley leads by example, adding one element at a time to show how to make a frog, for instance, or a bumblebee in "The Garden" or animals and birds in subsequent spreads. He also offers ideas for seasons, holidays and feelings. ( Apr.)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-A step-by-step approach to drawing for beginners and those who are artistically challenged. Each figure introduced can be made with a basic fingerprint or more, and then lines and dots are placed beneath the form to take budding artists to a complete picture. It is so easy to do that even very young children can enjoy a simple art adventure. A brief introduction refers readers to various ink pads, paints, and markers. Emberley also suggests using vegetables or gum-rubber erasers in addition to or instead of fingers. By dipping a finger into an ink pad, a basic form is made from which animals, bean buddies, clowns, and objects can be portrayed. The author then moves readers into general scenarios such as "The Garden" and "The Pond." He includes ways of showing emotions, holiday symbols, and a sketchbook full of supplemental ideas. The section devoted to advanced fingerprinting has slightly more difficult projects without step-by-step instructions. Emberley's books are especially valuable to nonartistic adults who want uncomplicated projects to do with children. This book is similar to Ed Emberley's Great Thumbprint Drawing Book (Little, Brown, 1977), but the addition of color fingerprints makes it visually more appealing.
Ilene Abramson, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

I LOVE this book!!!
A friend of mine gave me this book, along with some stamp pads and markers for my 39th birthday. I am having so much fun with it! I use the ideas in the book for decorating letters, envelopes and packages, and everyone loves them! I recently taught my 4 1/2 year old niece to make "thumbies" as my friends and I call them, and she was able to follow along easily. She made a balloon-carrying mouse, a butterfly, a "frog with no legs" and a clown. I was really surprised! So, now I'm ordering a copy to give to my sister for her.

Second generation of Ed Emberley artists!
We own four of Emberley's Drawing books and my kids loved them... they are now adults and I plan to use this newest book with my two grandchildren. Kids love to draw, but often get frustrated because the results "don't look right!". These books turn "I can draw??" into "I CAN DRAW!!" with smiles and laughter all around. The directions are very simple and the results satisfying... I recommend this book for all the budding artists you know.

EXCELLENT FOR BEGINNING DRAW-ERS!
I think its so sad when children say "i cant draw"... when all they need is someone to show them that it is easy and fun! This book is fabulous for the beginning drawers in your life...i try not to go by the age ranges as people learn to draw at different stages... i showed this book to my son's teacher who was convinced she couldnt draw only to see the pride in he smile when she made a few little fun pictures...clearly she was re-thinking her artistic ability! the pictures are simple as are the concepts but i think starting with the easy stuff builds self esteem and gives kids courage to move on the more difficult complex things...