Thanksgiving weekend family picture book read-aloud fun! (Book 5 of 13.)

A boy who can't draw as well as his friend finds his own talent. Ho-hum. ( )

Max declares that he can't draw, despite evidence to the contrary (e.g. perfectly serviceable crayon renditions of astronaut cats). Max's best friend Eugene is the best artist in the class, and Max's drawings do look rudimentary in comparison. Eugene is willing to help Max improve his drawing skills (there's a hilarious skewering of those "how to draw" books in the middle of the story, and on the endpapers too) and finally they hit upon tracing...but then Max gets bored and they decide to have fun instead. "No one can draw like me," Max concludes cheerfully.

A sly celebration of artistic creativity as at least equally important as technical skill, and a nice friendship between the two boys as well. Max appears white and wears glasses, Eugene looks Black.

See also: I Can Only Draw Worms by Will Mabbit, The Dot by Peter Reynolds ( )

When a boy decides that his art isn't as good as his best friend's, not only is an important lesson to be learned but a bit of silliness begins.

Max loves to draw, but he's not very good at it. So, his best friend, who just happens to be an amazing artist, decides to help him out. One technique after another flows in as the friend gives his best to teach Max how to create artwork as wonderful as his own, but each attempt ends in a flop. Until it doesn't, but that means Max is now sketching the exact same way as his friend...and there's no fun in that.

This book starts out and ends with two very different tutorials on how to draw a cat, step by step...and it fits perfectly. (Plus, readers learn how to draw cats, so kudos!) After this, we meet Max, who states right away that his drawing skills stink (although it's not clear who told him that). A few examples follow...and honestly, they weren't bad. My kids knew right away what he drew even though, according to the text, they were suppose to guess and received extra (totally unnecessary) hints at what it could be. His lack of self-confidence was a little confusing for us. Well, until his best friend's artwork comes into play—shaded and realistic, which would mean a very talented kid of that age. But even here, the best friend doesn't belittle Max in an obvious way. It's more subtle as he teaches Max to become 'better'. So, on this end, the story was a little off for us. Still, it was a fun read.

Max's creativity is amazing and ensures giggles and laughs. He embodies cartoon wonderfulness. More serious art fans will enjoy his friend's style and probably pick up some ideas for their own sketches along the way...which is also great because there is another (one or two) tutorial on how-to-draw something in these pages. So, while there's a great message about the broad range creativity can steer, there's also some do-it-yourself fun.

I can see this one working well for groups as a read-aloud, especially when connected with a chance to sketch and draw afterwards. I received a DRC and not only enjoyed Max's artwork but found the tips a nice add-on. ( )