Book Review: ‘Invitation to Draw’ By Jean Van’t Hul

In my conversations with parents concerned about their children’s future, I always advise them to make their children invest in arts and books. Here I use art in the broadest possible sense, which includes fine arts as well as performing arts. If you indeed love your children, you must think of their future, and provide them with something which would support them whole life.

From this perspective, the book Invitation To Draw: 99 Drawing Prompts to Inspire Kids’ Creativity by Jean Van’t Hul is a valuable addition. The title of the book is very appropriate, and through it the author has extended a helping hand out to children to hold and take their first few steps in the field of fine art. At first glance, it resembles the colouring books available in market but in fact offers much more than that. To give you an example, one figure shows an outline of only the trunk and branches of a tree. The drawing is titled ‘What Season Is It?‘ and asks the child-artist to “add flowers, leaves, or fruit to the tree that are appropriate for the season. How about some birds and animals, too?” This way, it does not just ask the children to fill the drawing, foreground and background with colours, but also encourages them to unleash their imagination and explore the different and alternative ways in which this drawing could be modified. Now this is what we call a ‘prompt’ in real sense of the word.

Besides the prompts, the introduction and other writings by the author are also valuable. Here she tells you how to use the book, presents additional ideas for using drawing prompts, and how to make your own prompt. The self-portrait drawing of the artist at the end page is surely going to put a smile on your face. It also shows how much you can achieve by just a simple line drawing. I would also suggest that you visit her blog ‘The Artful Parent’, which would give you ideas on how to connect with your children through the bond of art.

But just as any other art book, the success of this book depends on how your children use it. If they are able to draw even a few figures with the help of this book and take their first steps into the field of art, then this book would have served its purpose. Note that I say ‘first steps’ because based on my 30 years of experience in art, I can assure you that from that point onward art would itself pull them into it. The first step is the most difficult step, and then the only problem is how to continue making art. Once children overcome these hurdles, they would definitely enjoy a beautiful life.

If you carry interest in art, you can also have a look at some of my recent drawings here.

Title: Invitation to Draw: 99 Drawing Prompts to Inspire Kids’ Creativity
Author: Jean Van’t Hul
Publisher: Roost Books
Print Length: 208 pages
Price (Paperback): $17.96

My rating: