My Life in Pictures (Bea Garcia)

My 6 year old granddaughter is just getting started on chapter books. I bought her this book because of the connection to art. She has since fallen in love with Bea Garcia and has read all 3 books in the series. Deborah Femke writes in an engaging, easy to read style that captures a child's imagination, while also portraying life in a realistic way. Highly recommend this wonderful book and the others in the series.

So much fun! 6-year-old granddaughter loved it and is eager for sequel! She was inspired to draw her own life. Highly recommended.

I bought this book for my children and I thought they would love it but it hasn't really peaked there interest yet. He is 9 and she is almost 8. I think it's a great book and she is an avid reader but has chosen other books she prefers over what I think is a good book.

My daughter and I read this book together and both enjoyed it! It had a great story line and the characters are fun and real!

Summary: Bea Garcia likes to draw pictures of everything in her life. She keeps her drawings in a book she calls—you guessed—My Life in Pictures. She has pictures of her mom and dad, pictures of her little brother Pablo, aka The Big Pest, and pictures of her best friend Yvonne, who, sadly, has just moved to Australia. Yvonne’s house next door is empty, but not for long. Pretty soon a new family moves in with a boy just Bea’s age—or is he really a monster? Bert, aka Burp, ends up in Bea’s class, and she’s pretty sure nothing can be worse than the first day of school…until she gets to the second day. Just when it seems like disaster is about to strike, Bea’s book of pictures winds up saving the day. 134 pages; ages 6-9.Pros: Bea is a likable character with realistic-sounding problems and a spunky attitude to handle them. The heavily illustrated text will make this a good choice for readers transitioning to longer chapter books.Cons: I was a bit disturbed that Bea’s teacher showed her artwork to the whole class without first asking her permission.

Bea Garcia likes to draw, has a best friend, Yvonne living next door, a pesky younger brother and two parents. Her world is pretty much perfect until Yvonne moves away shortly before the beginning of second grade. So one day everything is great, and then the next Bea feels like she might as well give up. And she draws about everything that happens in her book, My Life in Pictures. I love Bea! She is a spunky and creative second grader with a wonderful imagination and I identified with her, as I think so many of us would, when her best friend moved away. And I loved how she dealt with her feelings by drawing about it! Bea was very lucky to have a caring and understanding teacher, who recognized Bea’s sadness and compassionately accepted Bea’s way of dealing with her feelings. This is a great book to read aloud to your kiddos, preschool through grades 2 or 3 (and I’ll bet your older kids will be crowding into listen too!), and it would also be perfect for the kids who are just moving into chapter books. The multiple drawings on every page are hilarious, as is the story, and My Life is Pictures is sure to engage even a reluctant reader!

My Life in Pictures is warm, wistful, funny, imaginative and inventive. Deborah Zemke deftly weaves together text and images that perfectly complement each other and that show her empathy and affection for children, her understanding of their world view and her appreciation of their sense of humor and sense of wonder. Readers, young and old, will delight in the wit and wordplay and vibrant, evocative images. Children will read this book straight through, from cover to cover, and then open it again and again for their favorite episodes and illustrations. Bea Garcia, the endearing narrator of My Life in Pictures, is creative, dreamy, quirky and affectionate and never quite sees the world the way grown-ups want her to. Bea can't help drawing: with tender precision, she draws her family, her dog, her best friend, her new neighbor and her classmates. She draws things that make her happy and things that make her sad. She draws things she dreams about and whatever vexes, amuses and amazes her. Readers will love Bea’s whimsical drawings: Bea draws herself and Yvonne in a sprawling crabapple tree; she draws herself and Yvonne playing jump rope with a pet kangaroo; she draws her brother, the “pest,” in his vampire guise; she draws Bert, the boisterous boy next door, with five cookies crammed into his mouth. And she draws Sophie, her dog, sampling a polka-dot studded slice of vanilla cake. When Mrs. Grogan, the class teacher, doles out one geography fact after another, Bea dutifully takes notes—by drawing--and adds her own extravagant and fanciful flourishes. Bea uses her drawings to relive her carefree, exuberant moments, to express sadness and longing, to work through gaffes and mishaps and to give shape to dreams of travel, adventure and a poignant reunion with her friend Yvonne. Children, parents and teachers will be captivated by this book which celebrates the power of art. With delicacy, grace and a light touch, Deborah Zemke reveals the possibilities of art: She shows children how art can help them to see and name things, find small surprising moments of grace and humor in everyday life, expand and enliven ordinary moments, cope with loss and pain and buoy themselves with dreams. Art can help them to interpret, illuminate and transform their experiences.

I bought this on a whim at the bookstore- something I don't usually do anymore. I'm sorry I didn't read through more of the book! I wanted to read this to my class to go with a sketching and storytelling unit, but this is probably better to read at home with your child if you have issues with kids calling other kids names. I like the relatable voice in the writing and how the character draws and tells stories about herself. She shares her feelings about her best friend moving and some school related events and feelings. Im not a fan of how she says she wants to sit next to another girl, so she won't get called on by the teacher... but it could be used to generate some great discussions.