The Art Room

The Art Room delights readers with a glimpse into the world of artistic expression, fun and freedom that renowned Northwest Coast artist Emily Carr created for her students.

For any child who loves art, it would be the gift of a lifetime to be able to study with a great contemporary artist. This delightful story-poem recreates the wonderful world of “the art room,” where famous Northwest Coast painter Emily Carr taught drawing and painting to children to support herself in the early 1900s. Filled with Carr’s love of animals, her insistence on painting from life and nature, and the sense of fun and freedom that she inspired in her young students, author Susan Vande Griek provides a fascinating glimpse into the life of this extraordinarily gifted artist. It is also a book bound to inspire today’s children to make an “art room” of their own.

Illustrator Pascal Milelli has brilliantly accomplished the very difficult job of painting a book about a painter. His rich style is a perfect foil for the work that Carr was doing at the time. This book reminds us of what a joyous experience art can be, and can serve as an inspiration to children who love to look at the world and try to reflect its beauty in their own creations. This edition features an updated font and an author’s note.

Key Text Features
biographical note

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7
Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.4
Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.

Susan Vande Griek started writing for children after she had four of her own. One of her books, Loon, was named a USBBY Outstanding International Book and won the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award, the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction, and the Children’s Literature Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award. Others include Go Home Bay, An Owl at Sea and Hawks Kettle, Puffins Wheel. She has also written poems for Cricket magazine. With degrees in English Literature and Education, she has worked in several schools and libraries. Once a resident of St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Susan currently lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.