Marion Deuchars believes making art is easy if you’re willing to give it a try. Unfortunately, too many kids (and adults) don’t believe they can draw or paint or create anything good enough to be called “art.” Deuchars’ book, Art Play, aims to banish that notion.

Art Play is oversized and printed on paper that is perfect for experimenting with lines, colors, shapes, and more. Deuchars includes 50 guided activities to build kids’ confidence in their ability to make art. Some are simple, such as crosshatching pencil lines in a square. Others are a little more complicated, such as the 3-D Hand Illusion, where young artists can learn to make what appears to be a 3-D drawing just by tracing their hands and learning how to create lines that trick the eye into seeing what’s not there. Even more involved is a fingerprint stencil bird, which has instructions for making a stencil and then using inked fingerprints to create a shape.

Most activities can be completed with simple things already found around the house or with a few inexpensive supplies that can be picked up at a large variety store or an art store.

Art Play should inspire hours of fun for parents and kids to enjoy together and on their own. It makes a great gift or it can be kept on hand to inspire rainy day/cold weather creativity. I highly recommend it.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.