a pair of picture books about ideas and the creative process (+ giveaway!)

 

 

These two picture books are both about having an idea and where to go from there, one bold and one reflective. They show the amazing possibility that follows from nurturing your creative process. Come see!

 

 

Her Idea by Rilla (2015).

Sozi is a girl with lots and lots of ideas. (Her ideas look like tadpoles, but stretched long and with arms and legs.)

(click image(s) to enlarge)

 

“The newest idea was always the best.

She loved every one of them more than the rest.”

The thing is, Sozi doesn’t do anything with her ideas. She lets them go until she doesn’t have any more. Because, as we know, they don’t last or stick if we don’t spend time with them.

 

But Sozi has a helper, a book just like the cover of Her Idea! Together, they capture the perfect idea. The only problem then is figuring out the illusive end.

 

That’s when things get pretty meta. Because we know this is Sozi’s story right? So Sozi is a character in her own book. The one we’re holding. They one we’ve just read. Which underscores the notion that if you nurture an idea, it will capture YOU!

 

(The brilliant book jacket!)

 

Thanks to Flying Eye Books for images!

 

 

 

What Do You Do With an Idea? written by Kobi Yamada, illustrated by Mae Besom (2013).

This book really gets to me. It truly is for anyone who’s ever had an idea and wondered what to do with it, regardless of age. Anyone who’s doubted whether or not to do anything with it at all.

In the illustrations, there’s a child whose idea is embodied in a gold-crowned egg with legs. Yup. It’s perfect.

Told from the first person, we hear what it’s like to be unsure, frightened, and to walk away from an idea. To disown it.

But ideas can be persistent, as this egg is. And as the narrator begins to accept and spend time with the idea, it grows. In fact, through the seasons, the whole world changes because of this idea—from black and white to leaves of green to magically, vibrantly colorful.

That’s how transformative ideas can be, when we give to them. They can change everything!

 

Thanks to Compendium for images!

 

And now, a truly special giveaway that will spark a child’s (or your) own creative process! Compendium is generously giving away one prize package: the picture book, What Do You Do With An Idea?, a matching journal for recording ideas, and an idea plush toy! So inspiring! And that adorable egg!

 

 

 

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You might also be interested in a previous post: 15 Lessons on Creativity from Picture Books!