The Art Lesson; A Shavuot Story - Tapa blanda

"What could be better to bring home the meaning of a Jewish holiday, especially the spring harvest holiday of Shavuot, which shows God's gift of Torah to the Jewish people, than a book about making art! Shavuot is usually celebrated either by staying up one night of Shavuot studying Torah and/or by creating an art work. This book is about the making of paper cuts depicting various aspects of the holiday and the authors and illustrator show how it can be done. Grandma J is an art teacher who is totally proficient in creating paper cuts of magnificent design. She shares her skill and her love of art with her granddaughter, Shoshana, as they create special designs for Shavuot and skills for a lifetime of creativity. The technique is demonstrated in a series of colorful pictures illustrating the text. A nice touch is that the creation of several pieces are all learned as the reader watches the process of the girl growing up, who later shares what she has learned with her own granddaughter. It is a colorful book with many dimensions and filled with imagination. Don't be surprised if it inspires creativity in the reader, as well."--Jewish Book Council

"The Art Lesson: A Shavuot Story by Allison and Wayne Marks, illustrated by Annie Wilkinson. Shoshana's grandma is an artist, with bright red cat-eye glasses and a cat named Krasner. Every Thursday after school, Shoshana goes to her studio--'like an enchanted forest'--to do art. Grandma J calls her 'my little Chagall, ' 'my little Modigliani, ' and 'my little Pissarro'; Wilkinson's simple, sweet illustrations contain nods to each of the artists mentioned. For Shavuot, Grandma J and Shoshana make papercuts. Grandma J creates beautiful roses and Torahs, but all Shoshana sees when she unfolds her paper are ugly holes. Grandma J teaches her to see visions in her abstractions: fields of flowers, schools of fish, honeycombs of bees. And many years later, when Shoshana is an artist herself, she teaches her own granddaughter the lessons of Grandma J. A short afterword explains Shavuot, mentions that Eastern European Jews used to make papercuts to hang in their windows for the holiday--who knew? --and gives instructions for a simple Star of David papercut. It also explains who the Jewish artists named in the text are...including Lee Krasner, who was not, in actual fact, a cat. (Ages 3-6)" - Tablet Mag

Shoshana loves spending time at Grandma Jacobs' art studio and for Shavuot, Grandma Jacobs has a very special art project in mind! Shoshana learns how to make papercuts by carefully folding squares of paper and cutting shapes out of them. But can she create works of art as beautiful as the ones Grandma makes?