Nonfiction Monday: Dogs and Cats by Nolon Stacey

I'm still working on updating my activities/crafts nonfiction section and we always need new drawing books, so I decided to check out this title, which is a little different than the usual drawing books I purchase.

The book starts with a discussion of drawing tools. Although it says you can just use a pencil and paper, it goes into a lot of detail about special pencils, erasers, blending tools, paper, and other items as well as a drawing space. The next sections focus on basic drawing skills, shading, features like eyes, noses, etc. and drawing different types of fur. The actual drawing instructions all start with a lightly penciled outline and then demonstrate how to add details and shading to create the finished art. The pictures start out simple, with just animal faces, and get more complicated with different poses.

I was doubtful about this one at first, as it's much more advanced than any of the other drawing books I have for kids, and I can't exactly test whether it works or not because I have absolutely no artistic ability (as witness my aide's hysterical laughter when I sketched out a bulletin board design for her to create). However, I do have older kids that I think would enjoy trying out more complicated techniques and, more likely, I often get adults looking in the children's section for easy drawing books. This is available in paperback, so I think I'll take a chance on it.

Verdict: If you're looking to add drawing books for an older audience, I think this is a good selection, but I'm not an expert in this field.

ISBN: 9781939581402; Reprint edition published 2014 by Walter Foster/Lerner; Borrowed from another library in my consortium