A DIY PICTURE BOOK

Why a DIY Picture Book?

Liza shared drafts of Lulu with elementary school kids and one six-year-old named Abby liked the story very much, especially the "Presto Expando Imaginatio" spell and the whales. But she thought it needed pictures. Since Abby's a problem solver, she spent a Sunday illustrating the book. You can see her work above.

As she drew, Abby asked good questions about feelings, like "what does it mean to go inside the angry?" Liza realized that illustrating the book allowed kids to engage with the message and the idea of a DIY illustration version of Lulu was born.

Six Steps to

DIY Illustrations

for Lulu

READ: In class or at home, read Lulu aloud. Stop on key pages to talk about what kids imagine in their mind's eye.

PREP: Set up the space and time. Choose an art medium. Crayon and pencil are easy. Kids also love to act out the scenes and have pictures of them as the illustrations.

CREATE: Most kids create directly in the book but you can also paste in pictures if you wish. Don't forget to have kids add their name as illustrator.

ENGAGE: As kid create, use the chance to talk about emotions. When have they felt similar to the page they are illustrating?

ENJOY: Re-read the newly illustrated book together, asking about the artistic choices they made. Celebrate their images.

REFLECT: Bring Lulu out after an angry episode and use it to reflect on what sadness this madness might be covering up.