ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
PRESCHOOL
Harper, Cherise Mericle

I Cannot Draw a Horse

48 pp. | Union Square | September, 2022 | Trade ISBN 978-1-4549-4594-9 $17.99
(2) PS A gray shape--almost a half of an oval--sits alone on a sheet of what looks like graph paper. "This is my shape," declares an unseen artist. Soon, this "nothing shape" transforms into a cat with the addition of smaller and longer variations of that half-oval. "I want a horse," the cat tells the artist. "I cannot draw a horse," responds the artist, who then makes some easier-to-draw friends: a squirrel, a beaver, a bunny, and a dog. The cat needs a skateboard to get away from the dog, but safety is boring and the cat insists on fun. A turtle? Too slow. The artist proceeds to draw everything but a horse. Finally, with a mound of clay, the feline fashions a trophy for the artist, which gives her confidence enough to declare: "I will try something new." The text's playful and pithy dialogue between artist and cat is easy to differentiate. Harper's illustrations make so much of so little, using a very limited palette and simple shapes, inviting readers into an artist's notebook. With a little imagination and some paper, "nothing" can become quite something.
Reviewer: Grace McKinney | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

RELATED 

PRESCHOOL

The Farmer and the Circus
by Frazee, Marla
PRESCHOOL

Bird House
by Gómez, Blanca
PRESCHOOL

The Crow and the Peacock
by Fernihough, Jo
PRESCHOOL

Something's Wrong!
by John, Jory
PRESCHOOL

Grandpa Across the Ocean
by Yum, Hyewon
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?