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 - Second generation of UsersMy stepmother taught me to draw with this book when I was 7 and now I'm using it with my homeschooling cirriculum for my kids. It's a terrific tool to de-mystify the artistic process and help find your own artistic voice. As an adult, I found the refresher course extremely useful. My 9 year old son, who is notoriously technical-minded, immediately understood the five families of shape and started breaking down the objects he saw into manageable mediums to put onto paper. He had been frustrated with his drawing until I found the copy I had used as a child and began using it in our curriculum. The best thing about the book is that it teaches you to accept your creative voice. Children's pictures are often primitive and they get frustrated that it isn't an exact copy, but (as the book states) if they really want it that perfect they could just take a picture. Their creative voice is what makes a drawing special, after all. I would definitely recommend this product and the use of resources like the addendum lesson plans here: http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/dwclp.htm Rating:  - Drawing lessonsThis book was very informative and useful in teaching a basic drawing class. I really liked the layout of the book, it was pretty cohesive. Rating: - A few things I didn't like, but overall good.I think the basic concept in this book is excellent. It really helps the kids to break everything down to basic elements. It takes it past the usual shapes that kids are taught and makes it much simpler. She suggests that use markers and not pencils. I do agree that it is important to not always fix a mistake and that you have to study where you went wrong so that the next time you draw it you can do better. However, markers are messy with 4 and 5 year olds. I'd suggest using pencils and just telling them they can't erase. Also, she pushes the concept that there is no wrong way of doing art. I disagree with this idea. There is a right and a wrong way to draw a house. There is a right and a wrong way to draw a daisy. Imagine Monet finishing one of his paintings and telling him, "That's good, but really there is no wrong way of doing it. I could paint the same bridge and it wouldn't be wrong." Crazy, huh? Rating: - Well-rounded, not limitingThe best thing about this book, as well as her other one for older children and teens, is that she isn't into teaching how to draw just one subject, such as cars, or monsters, etc., but wants to teach children how to draw anything they wish. And she does it in a creative way, so you can learn to draw freehand, not draw underlying framework that you have to erase later, as so many of the quickie drawing books teach. Adults can learn from her methods as well. In many ways Drawing with Children is much better than Betty Edwards' Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, simply because there is no right brain/left brain psychobabble to wade through between lessons, there are just lots of lessons. This is not to say that Edwards' book isn't useful--it is--but it is definitely for high school age and above. One caveat, however. Don't expect the same results from your young children without putting in the amount of time Ms. Brookes did with students in her school--from reading the book it seems they worked at their art daily, which is something that just doesn't happen at most schools, public or private. Rating: - Great Tool for Teaching ArtThis book is a great way to get kids to realize that yes they can draw. It really gives great techniques and excercises that teach the basic elements of shape.
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