The opening of this book irresistibly reminded me of an odd little book that was, and is, the absolute favorite for my third grade field trips - I can only draw worms. This book opens with Fishman directly addressing the audience, explaining that he's, well, a bad drawer. You won't laugh? Ok, he'll show you... what... is that? A hedgehog? A pine cone with eyes? Weird.
He's got friends that are good at drawing, but he's not. He can bake cookies! He can write stories! But not draw. However, not everybody is good at everything - and with some help from friends, Seth's wonderful adventure in his head, all about a mouse riding a half-cat half-bird and saving the kingdom, can truly come to life! A list in the back names the collaborating illustrators and their other work - Jessixa Bagley, Armand Baltazar, Anna Bond, Travis Foster, Jessica Hische, Tillie Walden, and Ethan Young.
This does stray a little into "everybody is good at something" territory, which I personally dislike (some of us are just average you know! Lots of us, in fact, are average with a special talent) but it would pair well with I can't draw by Stephen Martin and Charise Mericle Harper's I cannot draw a horse. It's not ideal for art teachers or those working to teach kids to be resilient and practice, but it's great for encouraging collaboration, and perfect for my third grade field trip which is a collaborative art adventure.
Verdict: Not only funny, but a great example of how kids can collaborate together on creative projects, this unique and silly story is a perfect addition to interactive and storytelling-focused stories and translates easily to classroom or library projects of writing and illustrating stories together.
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