Art's Supplies

by Chris Tougas

In this delightful tale of the power of the imagination, Art’s supplies come to life in the studio, creating mayhem and magic—and art! Pastels, pencils, paints, crayons, brushes and markers...everything gets in on the act of creating a mess-terpiece of fun. Chris Tougas’s brilliant illustrations and clever text explore the essence of the creative process in a way that children will understand.“Kids will want to grab some colored pencils and get to work themselves.” —Booklist“This lively title is sure to be a favorite.” —School Library Journal“Gorgeously colored...Tougas’s great skill at joyous illustration is just icing on the cake.” —Quill & Quire

Genres: Picture Books, Art, Childrens, Humor

48 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2008

Reviews

[Payal Sachdeva]

Punny !

[Michelle]

I am a fan of puns and this book was CHALKED full of them with all the art supply references. My eyes were GLUED to the silly puns and bright colours.

[Roseann]

Loved this as a TumbleBook! Great concept from start to finish, this lovely book will surely grab the attention of Pre-k Picassos everywhere!
His book Mechanimals is still my favorite, but this is a close follower!
A must-own for any family with art-supply addiction, like us!

[Linda]

Colorful and crazy, this is a joyful and funny book. Art's supplies (paints, crayons, markers, etc.) all join in a colorful party, complete with some corny jokes. Share this book with your favorite child, then pull out the paper, pencils, paints, pastels, and have even more fun!

[Roxanne]

I love the puns! Unfortunately it's lost on my ESL 5yo (we'll get there!). But we were able to discuss all sorts of art supplies, including magic markers which I had as a child but she's never seen!

[Mrs Heet -Librarian]

The actual story was just a sentence or two per 2 page spread. The majority of it was told through comments made by the art supplies, many of which were more adult in humor than kid. Overall I was left pretty unimpressed by the end.

[Hannah Moerman]

read this if you love art + puns // dad jokes

[Melissa]

Fun story to introduce different types of Art Supplies in the art room. This would be a good read for Pre-k through 2nd grade.

[Mama Bearian]

It started out with a "butt" joke.

[Jessica]

Other than a few puns that I didn't particularly care for, it's a very cute book for kids to explore creativity.

[Nicole]

Creative and punny! Delightful book!

[Jennifer]

Hilarious!! Great book for teaching puns. Gotta get this book!!

[Sarah Zablotney]

Title: Art’s Supplies
Author: Chris Tougas
Genre: Online Book
Theme: Humor, imagination
Opening line/sentence: “’It’s not my fault!’ Art declared.”
Brief Book Summary: In this online book the art supplies come to life and have a party with the boy, Art. From crayons and pastels to paints and brushes, all of the art supplies make a mess. They were unable to clean up because they were so busy having a party.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Tougas, Chris Art's Supplies 32 pp. Orca 2008. ISBN 978-1-55143-920-4 (4) K-3
"My supplies have a mind of their own!" declares Art. Paper throws a party at her "pad." Pencils, crayons, paint, ink, and more attend, creating a "mess-terpiece" of fun. Exuberant splashes of color reign, as cartoon art supplies cavort through frenetically busy pages, expressing themselves in art puns that some kids won't get (e.g., "2B or not 2B?").
(The Horn Book Guide Online)
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
BBKT (Best Books for kids & Teens, 2009)
This is the place to be to witness the creation of a mess-terpiece of fun! In this delightful tale of the power of the imagination, Art’s art supplies come too life in the studio, creating may hem and magic—and art! Brilliant illustrations and clever text explore the essence of the creative process.
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
Both of these reviews touch on the cleverness of this story, which some children might not get. They both thought that the text and illustration where wonderful for the story to show the different types of art supplies. Direct quotes from the text shows the lively actions that took place throughout the story.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
The illustration in this text was very colorful; it really showed the different are supplies and the beautiful colors they can make. The plot of this story was the fun mess that the art supplies made and since they where at a party they could not clean it up. This online book is great for young readers to follow along as the narrator speaks.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
I would use this in my class when we are working with different art supplies. After we can discuss what art supplies they used in the story. Then allow the students the freely engage in the different supplies and create their own “mess” with art.

[Barbara]

Because the art supplies in this picture book are personified, the book may bring to mind The Little Red Pen and The Day the Crayons Quit. Art, a boy who appropriately loves art, offers as his defense for making a mess the fact that all of his art supplies have come to life, have minds of their own, and there is little he can do to keep them from partying. There are many humorous references and asides in the story that will make readers chortle for instance, a red paint can suggests, "Let's paint the town red!" (unpaged). I enjoyed much of this book and the energy provided by the vibrant illustrations, but I grew a bit weary of the partying aspect of the story. Still, the book is cleverly designed and written, with even the end papers containing footprints and handprints. This book would be terrific for sharing with others in an art class for creative inspiration or as a reminder that creating something can be very messy.

[Tasha]

Enter the wild and wonderful world of Art's room, filled with paint, markers, chalk, and anything else you would need to have a party with a pad of paper. This book captures the joy of creation, the fun of art and the release of imagination. As Art uses each type of art supply, they comment with silly puns and laugh-out-loud jokes, adding to the hilarity and pace of the book.

Tougas' art is wonderful, each page capturing the medium being used and the differing feel and techniques. Children will immediately be drawn in to the explosion of art and inspired to create their own messy party.

Recommended not only to encourage art in children, but also to instruct on the variety of media that can be used. An inspiring and fun look at the diversity of art.

[Ashlyn Ryder]

Tougas, C. Art's supplies. Orca Book Publishers.

Tumblebooks
LOV

This humorous story line will surely have young students giggling in delight. Talking art supplies that create a crazy creative mess can inspire art students to explore their own creativity. Students will surely have fun watching the brightly colored animated and talking illustrations. I was personally thrown off by some of the humor. This book could be used in an art class to add some literature and light hearted fun into the classroom.

[Nicole]

This is one of those books where I feel like the concept is stronger than the execution. It is very reminiscent of The Day the Crayons Quit where the majority of the story is told from the point of view of the art supplies. My issue is that the story is limited to about two sentences per page with about 5-6 comments from the supplies scattered about the page. It would be a fun book for kids to explore but not really much of a plot or story line and the layout of the text and the colors themselves muddy up the story for me. I wished everything was brighter, more vibrant, and clearer.

[Michele]

The art supplies have come to life and . Such fun use of double meanings making silly jokes that kids will enjoy. At one point a marker "has the runs," really don't want the "ewwwwww"'s that are sure to follow that line. Illustrations are primitively drawn with bright colors, enhancing the "art project" feel of the story.

[Cindy]

Chris Tougas' Art's Supplies is quite a funny little book. The illustrations are whimisical and pulls you and the story is very free flow. So you can talk about what the art tools are doing, you can straight read the story there are so many ways to enjoy this book. And I really did enjoy the litttle jokes that were throughout the story.

[Britny Ohliger]

This cute story of how art supplies come to life in a little boy’s imagination. I love that the text would be highlighted when the story was reading a specific part. There were different voices for the characters which added to the originality of this Tumblebook. It was fun to read the story with the characters while they moved around matching the clever story line. They even blink!

[Marie]

The illustrations in this are vibrant and fun. Filled with clever puns, the story won't be fully appreciated by the younger picture book reader. It will definitely be enjoyed by any parent whose creative child could never seem to clean up and put away his/her art supplies.

[Amanda]

I think this should be on every preschool and elementary art teacher's bookshelf. It goes through various media that children might use to create art (2D at least) and has lots of jokes and puns that are fun too. The illustrations are vibrant and my 3 1/2 y/o seemed to enjoy the fast pace of it.

[Dolly]

A punny look at art supplies and creativity in young minds. Silly jokes abound, some of them go above our girls' heads, but they liked them anyway. Our girls enjoyed watching this book read aloud on the "Tumblebooks" online audiobook site (www.tumblebooks.com). We've read this one a few times.

[Angela Nelson]

This book can be used to introduce the different supplies used in art class. And also to teach children to have fun and not make a mess. I like the illustrations. They would be simple for children to duplicate. Fun story.

[Denise]

Thanks to Tumblebooks for allowing me to read a book a day. Art's Supplies is a great book for art teachers! The jokes may be a little over the heads of some children (hopefully), but funny, nonetheless.

[Sarah Threlkeld]

I'm a sucker for a good pun and this book is packed with them. The narrative is lacking, but the illustrations and humor make up for that fact. Great way to introduce younger students to different types of art supplies.

[Denise]

This book is filled to the brim with cliches that are also used as bad pick-up lines at Art's party.

[Julie]

Art's art supplies throw a party, play with puns and get creative! I like how the author throws in lesser known art supply terms.

[Diana]

Great book about art and when the supplies take over

[Lonica]

This hilarious book is good for both kids and adults. A perfect way to teach puns and more sophisticated humor.