Review Detail

I Can't Draw

Kids Fiction 509

A great lesson in artistic temperment

December 04, 2022

Overall rating

4.3

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

Max loves to draw, but feels that he isn't any good at it. His cats are okay, but he's not entirely happy with the details of his drawing, and knows that his classmate Eugene is much more accomplished. He asks Eugene for help (in exchange for some of his cupcake at lunch!), and Eugene is glad to help. He loans Max one of his favorite drawing books, but that's a rather vague start. Max really wants to improve, but even working directly with Eugene doesn't seem to help. Eugene suggests that Max trace the drawings, and that improves the technical aspects of the drawings, but Max feels that something is missing when he does this. Like Dav Pilkey, Max likes to include lots of goofy action in his drawings, and wants them to tell a story and not just be pretty, like Eugene's drawings are. Before too long, the friends are working together so that both of their talents are being used to good effect, and Max feels better about his artistic accomplishments.

Good Points

The message of this book is a great one-- just because your skills at something might not be the best, your efforts still have value. Max enjoys drawing, and loves telling stories with his pictures, but his pleasure is somewhat diminished because he doesn't feel accomplished enough. When he begins to understand that Eugene's drawings might be technically more pleasing but lack the verve of his own, he feels better about his own skills.

Biggs does a great job using three different types of drawing-- Max's simple, childlike drawings (that are much better than my own!), Eugene's more photorealistic but still rudimentary style, and Biggs' own illustrated picture book depictions of the boys, which include an astonishing range of colors in Max's hair, facial expressions that are very emotive even though the lines are very simple, and a lot of clever jabs at drawing. My favorite isthe Pico Poblano drawing book that shows the "steps" to drawing things; these look alarmingly like Lee J. Ames' drawing books that start with basic shapes, go to suggest the vague "fill in the details" step, and end with professional grade drawings that require a whole lot of talent! The best part is the stories that Max and Eugene make up when they combine both of their strengths.

My own children were big fans of Ed Emberley's drawing books, which has much simpler instructions. This book would make a great gift combined with some art supplies and a "how to" book such as Emberley's. Other books that would be great for budding artists would be Miller's Izzy Paints, Magoon's Linus the Little Yellow Pencil, and Altes' I am an Artist.