Author/Illustrator: Allen Say
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Publication Year: 1996
Brief Summary: A young girl finds inspiration for her art in a rug someone has given her when she was a baby, but when her mom accidentally washes it, Emma has to find creatively another way.
Awards, Honors and Prizes:
Parents’ Choice Award, 1996 Gold Picture Books United States
Adventuring with Books: A Booklist for PreK-Grade 6, 12th Edition, 1999 ; National Council of Teachers of English
Best Children’s Books of the Year, 1996 ; Bank Street College of Education
Capitol Choices, 1996 ; The Capitol Choices Committee
Children’s Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, 2001 ; H.W. Wilson
Children’s Catalog, Nineteenth Edition, 2006 ; H.W. Wilson
Children’s Literature Choice List, 1997 ; Children’s Literature
Kaleidoscope, A Multicultural Booklist for Grades K-8, Third Edition, 2001 ; National Council of Teachers of English
Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, September 1996 ; Cahners
Sharing Cultures: Asian American Children’s Authors, 2001 ; ALSC American Library Association
Ideas for using this book in classroom or library and/or brief notes on curriculum connections/content learning standards/Common Core, etc.:
- Why was Emma so upset when she found out her mom has washed her rug? Why was the rug so special to her?
- Artists, writers, musicians, etc., often talk about people or things that inspire them to create the things they create. What inspires you?
- Read excerpts from books such as Allen Say’s Drawing From Memory or Eric Carle’s The Art of Eric Carle to see what inspired these illustrators. Artist to Artist: 23 Major Illustrators Talk to Children About Their Art by Eric Carle might also be a great resource. Find interviews with different artists online.
Accessed at: Personal Library