Pistes d'exploration

Discuss how you relate to Ramon. How do you feel about what his sister said? Explain your reaction to the word “ish”?

Act out the story with a friend.

Talk about ways you can give constructive criticism to a friend. Create a list of phrases that would work well: phrases that do not offend, yet still help them develop in a particular area or subject.

In your reader-writer's notebook, write about something you like to do but don’t do very well yet. Explain your reaction to the “ish” word in relation to your aspirations as a writer/artist/athlete, etc.

Discuss how you know that Ramon likes to draw. Why didn’t Leon like his brother’s drawings while Marisol did? When is it important to do things just right and when is it okay to do them “ishfully”?

Make a graphic organizer that identifies the personality traits of the three characters in the story.

Write about something you do “ishfully” (e.g. draw, write, play a sport, dance, sing) and share with the class. Use expressions to encourage each other to develop this pastime.

The Dot, The Art Lesson

Mots-clés

Picture book , art , brothers and sisters , creativity , drawing , perceptions , self-confidence , self-expression

Commentaire descriptif

The language in this story flows with an elegant yet realistic naturalism: “After many months and many crumpled sheets of paper, Ramon put his pencil down. ‘I’m done.’” Readers of any age will relate to Ramon’s frustration and his inability to make something the way he envisions it. Meanwhile, the fluid, line-based illustrations slyly tell another story. The story turns on the touching moment when Ramon chases his sister into her room, to find all his crumpled, rejected drawings taped up on her walls. Together they agree that if the drawings don’t look exactly like the object they depict, they do look “ish.” Young readers will enjoy the bright, coloured sketches that emerge from Ramon’s journal after this: “tree-ish,” “house-ish,” “fish-ish” and more. In the end, the book’s positive message moves beyond the realm of personal production and expression, when Ramon has a wonderful feeling that neither words nor image can capture. Like Ramon, readers of all ages and interests may aspire to savour life, and live “ishfully ever after.”