The Class Artist

by G. Brian Karas

Despite the trouble he has at first working on art projects at school and with the help of his big sister Martha, Fred develops his creativity and becomes the class artist.

Genres: Art, Childrens, School

Hardcover

First published August 1, 2001

About the author

G. Brian Karas has illustrated close to ninety children’s books. He has also written and illustrated several titles, including HOME ON THE BAYOU, a BOSTON-GLOBE-HORN Book Honor winner. He lives in Rhinebeck, New York.

Reviews

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fred doesn't think he's very good at drawing thanks to a critical comment from another student in his class. His sister shows him otherwise, and Fred discovers he really enjoys drawing. But, he takes on a bit bigger project than he can handle in his class and ends up disappointing his teacher, but mostly himself. Even so, his discovers the artist within throughout his struggle.

Illustrations are okay.

[Rachel Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would use this little picture book to kick off an art project or give it to a little struggling artist. I can see myself having students do a little writing response about how this makes them feel and what they got from it, and hopefully they would find themselves inspired and see how important it is to push forward when they are discouraged, just as the main character ultimately does.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fred prides himself for being "the class artist" until he takes on a project too big for him, and loses confidence in himself. Karas is clearly trying to say something with this book, but its message is muddled. When Fred expresses his feelings of frustration artistically, he does not feel satisfied, and his final work of art is a depiction of all his classmates working together to extinguish the flames that have engulfed his artistic dream and with it, presumably, his self-image. In order for this to work thematically, however, Fred's classmates ought to have been encouraging him throughout the story, instead of simply noting his anxiety. At the end, Fred recovers his identity as "the class artist", so all's well with the world. However, one has to wonder whether the label of class artist, so prominent from even the title of the book, was not what led to Fred's anxiety in the first place. This was yet another topic not addressed in the book, however. Ahhh, the missed opportunities!
"The Dot" and "Ish" by Peter Reynolds do a much better job with similar themes.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good story that shows the importance of asking for help and the joy of discovering a new talent. I like that it depicts Fred as desiring to create a magnificent project that is beyond the scope of his talents and abilities. Our girls are often attempting to create something that, when finished, doesn't quite meet up to the picture they have in minds. Still, they have fun inventing and creating things and they are learning to overcome their frustrations and ask for help when they don't know how to do something. The joy of finding a skill that you are good at and being appreciated for that skill is truly wonderful and it's nice to see that happen with Fred.