Tiz & Ott's big draw

PreS-Gr 1-Tiz and Ott are friends and both are artistic. While Tiz the cat is hard at work drawing a house for her and Ott to share, Ott the donkey is lazily painting a sun and a cloud. When he falls asleep, Tiz takes his brush along with her colored pencil to create her big idea: a huge (and full-spread) storm. With a little creativity, they rescue each other by drawing and painting their way out of tight spots until they make it safely home. Final pages give step-by-step illustrations for drawing the characters and tips for making brushies, curly whirlies, splodges, weaves, and many more artistic marks. With clean white backgrounds, Tiz's colorful drawings and Ott's broad brushstrokes are on full display. VERDICT Two friends joyfully creating art will inspire young readers to take up their own crayons, pencils, or paints.-Ramarie Beaver, Plano Public Library System, TX © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A pair of friends makes art and much, much more. Tiz is a ginger cat; she draws with a big multicolored pencil. Ott is a little donkey; he paints with a big fuzzy brush. Tiz has finished drawing their house and starts on the garden, Ott makes a big "splodge" of sun and heads for a nap, but not before Tiz asks him to tone down the sun a little, which he does with a blue cloud. Tiz, however, sees the possibilities for cooling rain and, taking Ott's brush, bolts of lightning with attendant thunderclaps. They need to draw and paint themselves out of the ensuing storm, complete with a ladder Tiz keeps adding rungs to (it's a long foldout). The colors are rich, clear, crayon-y hues, and the pair's delight in what they are making is reflected on every page. Of course, they are also making a vivid mess, and they rejoice in that, too. The dialogue is minimal and simple, though not without crunch; the vocabulary expands considerably as the pair works, illustrating "splatter" and "dollop," "scumble" and "doodle," and many other whimsically descriptive art terms. A double-page spread near the end illustrates how to draw both Tiz and Ott. A fine way to encourage artistic license for the very youngest of makers, many of whom can probably read this one themselves. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.