Pablo Picasso (Volume 74) (Little People, BIG DREAMS)

I have read many of the books in the “Little People, Big Dreams” series, and this one is my favorite so far. The books always talk about how the famous figure was in childhood to relate to kids. Then it shows how they overcame obstacles to become great to inspire the reader. Picasso’s story naturally fits very well into this formulaic approach.Picasso was a very talented artist as a child. This book indicates at just 9 yrs old, he was a better artist than his father who was an art teacher. I recommend looking up the painting “First Communion, 1896” which he did as a 15 year old.The obstacles he overcame were:1. Trying to make a living as an artist which led him to burning some paintings to keep warm 😬2. The death of a friend which inspires his “blue period”. 🙁The book talks about how Pablo always wanted to make art like children rather than boring traditional art.The last line of the story is “Because all children are artists— we just need to keep believing it once we grow up.” This is a very powerful and true message. Most adults I know loved art as kids but then got discouraged along the way. Encouraging kids to express themselves without comparing their work to others may result in childhood artists growing into adult ones.

Tiene bonitas ilustraciones y la encuadernación es muy cuidada. Compré la edición en inglés. Para niños iniciados en la lectura de ese idioma. Mi hija lo pidió porque en el cole tienen otros ejemplares de la misma serie y son muy interesantes.

What a clever artist Pablo was, hope it sparks ambition in young children.

Libro per bambini molto raccomando

I've found that a lot of students in my 6th grade classroom don't have a lot of experience reading and working with biographies. Because of this, I have been including books in my classroom library that are for a younger age group, but include the basics of someone's life. This really fits the bill. It's written clearly with just the facts. It gives some story to keep your interest as you read through the main aspects of the person's life.All of the Little People, Big Dreams books are laid out in chronological order. They are filled with more illustrations than writing. They also try to include famous quotes that the person has said within the writing. Sometimes these require a bit more research to completely understand, but that has worked in my benefit because my students then have to go find out more.Overall, this is a page turner that my middle school students can get through in about 15 minutes of silent reading. Because of that, it is popular to have out on the desks when we have independent reading or extra time. It's just long enough to fill that period of time and feel like you have learned something new about the person.