We often think of biographies as being lengthy stories about people that are no longer with us, but when you go looking there are so many beautiful, intriguing biographies hidden within picture books. In this podcast we discuss books that share the life of artist Wassily Kandinsky and dancer Li Cunxin (best known as Mao’s Last Dancer).
Wassily Kandinsky
Children will love exploring the world of Kandinsky. This video provides a great introduction to his work.
Li Cunxin
An extraordinary story that allows us a glimpse into the life of Li Cunxin. Li’s journey of courage and determination, that was first detailed in the novel Mao’s Last Dancer. is made available to younger children via this beautifully illustrated picture book.
It is a perfect story to explore creative thinking using Project Zero’s thinking routine “Creative Questions”
- How would it be different if…
- How would it look differently if…
- Suppose that..
- What would it be like if…
- What would change if…
For example..How would it be different if…Li’s parents didn’t allow him to leave their farm?
LINK: Creative Questions.pdf
This story is also the perfect stimuls for discussing perspective. Can you tell the story from different viewpoints?
The parents?
Li?
Mary Blair
Children will love exploring the life of Mary through this colourful picture book. Mary did not ‘play by the rules’ when using colours. This will hopefully encourage our children to follow their own creative ideas when using colour.