Without any prompting, children intuitively develop a powerful impulse to draw. Beginning with their first scribbles, drawing is an activity that encompasses children’s expanding knowledge, changing perceptions and new experiences of themselves and their environment. Children Draw by Marilyn JS Goodman explores the meaning and value of drawing for youngsters, from toddlers aged two to preadolescents aged twelve. Informed by psychology and practical teaching with children, it guides readers through the progressive stages and characteristics of drawing development as children change mentally, physically, socially, emotionally, and creatively. It offers tips to encourage children to express their ideas visually and recommends age-appropriate art materials, workspaces, and different media. It also gives suggestions for making a museum visit more meaningful—not to mention more fun—for both parents and kids.

Packed with delightful examples of children’s art, Children Draw explores the visual language that evolves as the child grows, and one in which feelings, ideas and emotions can all appear much like Here Comes Ingo, another book that gently pushes children to get out of their head and step inside a magnificently crafted visual experience which allows them to find their own voice by giving new life to the story of Ingo.

While Children Draw focuses on the way draw they develop motor skills, a positive sense of identity, and faculties of problem-solving and critical thinking, Here Comes Ingo is not only a collection of beautiful collages that exemplifies a progression of thinking leading towards love, kindness and inclusion because the world needs more empathetic, understanding and tolerant children. It is also a great tool in teaching kids about setting, structure flow and attention to detail as well as allowing them to act out the story as the pictures lead their imagination. Equally important, this wordless picture book familiarizes children with figurative art collage, an art technique used since ancient times. Each illustration is a carefully orchestrated arrangement of various cut outs of animal, insects and birds wrapped in a cheerful Disney-like palette in order to produce a final image that is as surreal and unexpected as it is real and imbued in suggestive possibilities much to the tune of Matisse’s adage that a paper collage is “a painting made with scissors.”

• Marilyn JS Goodman, EdD, is an art and museum education specialist who served as the first director of education for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the first director of the Children’s Museum of Cincinnati, and director of K-12 art for the Worcester Public Schools. She has also taught art in public schools as well as at Clark University, Moore College of Art and Design, and the City College of New York. She is coauthor of Learning through Art.
• Here Comes Ingo,a great example of the benefits of art in early childhood development,is IndieReader Approved, recognized by The National Parenting Center (Seal of Approval), winner of Creative Child Magazine Book of the Year (picture book category) and recipient of Mom's Choice Gold Award.