Category: Children Publisher: SBPRA
ISBN-10: 1628572884
Pages: 28
Copyright: Jan 31, 2014
ISBN-13: 9781628572889
Price: $4.99 (eBook)
Deals with perspective, perception and self-esteem as a child paints artwork in class and later discovers it as part of the town’s Art Contest.
Have you ever seen a “work of art” worth millions, which looks like something your child just brought home from school? The dual perspective of “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder” and just a little bit of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” is evident in this clever artwork story of a child who paints a fingerpaint print in class and then loses it in the wind on the way home. Illustrated from the point of view of a child, whose identity is left to the imagination of the reader since all of the illustrations are what the child sees, the fingerpaint print is interpreted by official “judges” as well as by bystanders. Should people be influenced by what others see, or use their own self-esteem to make their own judgments?
Excerpt
One day in my art class, Ms. Gallagher said,
“Just fingerpaint something you see in your head.”
So I dipped all my fingers in paint that was green
And drew on the paper my very best scene.
Then right in the middle, I put a red blob
'Cause I wasn't quite sure how to best draw my dog;
But then the bell rang, so I put things away
And never got back to my picture that day.
Professional Reviews
Another Masterpiece – Jannifer Powelson
Sherrill S. Cannon’s newest release is another Masterpiece. Known for the charming rhyming verse in her previous books that have helped children learn the importance of good manners, “My Fingerpaint Masterpiece” is another great book with a new twist. Readers will still enjoy her lively rhyming style and the beautiful illustrations by Kalpart, but children will learn about using their talents.
In this tale, what begins as an uncompleted art project turns into a Masterpiece, when adults try to find hidden meaning in the child’s smeared paint. Though the child created a beautiful piece of art, it was unintentional, and he can’t believe the judges of the art contest that he accidently entered are trying so hard to analyze his painting. When the child tries to tell everyone there’s been a big mistake, no one takes him seriously.
A delightful story from start to finish, this will be another bedtime favorite for young children.
The Midwest Book Review
"My Fingerpaint Masterpiece" is a delightful rhyming story about honesty, character, and creativity, with lots of jokes and hidden surprises in the illustrations and text. One day in art class a child creates an unfinished finger painting while thinking of a scene of his pet dog on the lawn. The unfinished, unsigned painting begins travels of its own on the way home with the child when a wind blows it into the Rainbow Connection Art Gallery where it is framed and hung with other paintings by mistake. Many complications multiply, and finally the unknown fingerpaint masterpiece is awarded first place! The child finally speaks up and tries to take credit for the misunderstood finger painting, no one will believe her/him. This typical reaction is accepted by both child and parents, and the upshot of the story is, a fingerpaint masterpiece by an unnamed artist hangs in the Museum Art Gallery with First Prize award ribbon pinned to it. "My Fingerpaint Masterpiece" is beautifully illustrated and delivered with style. Hidden throughout the illustration pages are images of the author's other popular children's books, a witty hello to fans of Ms. Cannon's juvenile works. An audience of middle elementary students will appreciate "My Fingerpaint Masterpiece" and benefit from its positive message for creative minds of all ages.
San Diego Examiner - Victoria Ross
Sherrill S. Cannon’s latest children’s book My Fingerpaint Masterpiece is done in rhyme as her previous books, Manner-Man, Gimme-Jimmy, The Magic Word, Peter and the Whimper-Whineys, and Santa’s Birthday Gift. GTMA Review has called her, ‘a modern day Dr. Seuss.’ She is a former teacher who has won eighteen awards for her five previous rhyming books along with seven published and internationally performed plays for elementary school children.
All of her books have been part of a fundraiser for the CureJM Foundation for over a year – 50 percent of the price of the books goes to the CureJM Foundation. JM = Juvenile Myositis, an incurable children’s disease. The site for that is found on her CureJM website.
Breaking news is that she is also in the process of creating the same kind of fundraiser for the imbullyfree.org non-profit group, helping to prevent bullying. My “Manners” books (The Magic Word, Gimme-Jimmy and Manner-Man) fit right into that niche!! The new site announce today will be her new website against bullying.
This delightful book, ‘My Fingerpaint Masterpiece’ is very much a story with a message for young and old alike. A budding young artist sits in art class dipping her fingers into a bowl of paint and ‘drew on the paper my very best scene’. But as she walked home from school the wind took the paper from her. It flew away. The young artist had never finished it!! How could they know it was to be her very special scene? A week later she sees it at a store. It was found and displayed in an art gallery where it won first prize!
Finally, as everyone described what they saw in the painting, our young painter shouted: ‘It’s my painting that you all are raving about!’ They just ignored her and said: ‘You’re only a child telling stories, I fear.’ It is easy to dismiss a child or anyone that it is only a story? Are children not to be believed because they are young? It is very difficult to believe, to have trust and faith in the human spirit. Is it we do not trust ourselves? Do we not believe? Perhaps mistrust and inability to believe in a gift from the colors of the universe are the mystery that we do not understand. Perhaps it is found in the heart?
Another beautifully written book it is a masterpiece in belief. With simple hopeful colors from the rainbow swirling throughout the book for KJ and her team of artists at Kalpart it brings the story alive visually.
As her new endeavor to help prevent bullying takes off this week, I had an opportunity to interview Sherrill Cannon and get her insight on writing books for children. Part Two will be the full interview with the award winning author, Sherrill S. Cannon. Her books can be found on the websites of amazon, Barnes and Noble and her website.
