Izzy Paints
Readers embark on a creative journey with Izzy the koala and a cat as they explore the big city. Environmental print abounds throughout the book, providing many opportunities to pause and talk about the illustrations on each page. Other characters within the story appear in muted blue tones, so it is easy to spot Izzy and the cat as they navigate the city. Once in the art museum, Izzy not only sees the art, but feels it and even hears it speak. Drawing inspiration from the visit to the museum and from the surroundings, Izzy creates a masterpiece by painting big, small, gentle, and wild. When the bright, vivid and vibrant painting is placed on display for others to enjoy, it will also ignite the budding artistry within the readers.
Pennsylvania Center for the Book Awards
Book Activities & Discussion Ideas
During a second reading of Izzy’s artistic journey, guide children in identifying the vibrant colors. Encourage discussion about their favorite colors and those that make them feel happy. Izzy’s favorite color is yellow. Izzy starts painting the canvas with yellow and then adds other colors creating the image. After the story, give each child a large piece of paper to paint with their favorite colors. Emphasize how Izzy uses the brush to make big, gentle, and small strokes. Like Izzy, make sure that each child has a painting smock, brushes, paints, and a sturdy painting surface. Invite the children to share their creations with their families.
Encourage families to use Izzy Paints as a springboard for noticing color and artistic creations in children’s everyday environments. The book lends itself well to a game of “I Spy” with artistic terms from the book. Discuss with children special words to describe color, like saying "jade" instead of just "green." When talking with children about their art ask them to describe their creation. What did they enjoy the most about creating their art? Where would they like to display their art? What would they like to make the next time they paint or color?