Enter to Win a Prestel Back To School Giveaway!

**Books received for consideration. All thoughts are my own.

How to Spot an Artist by Danielle Krysa (9/1/2020; ISBN: 9783791374406; Hardcover $16.95; Ages 5+) is a vividly illustrated, funny, and endlessly encouraging picture book “about being an artist, even when someone tells you not to be."

With over 200,000 Instagram followers, Danielle Krysa has helped a lot of people overcome the fear that they "aren't creative," and in How to Spot an Aritist, Krysa wants to reach readers as kids before their inner critics arrived on the scene, using her characteristic playfulness, lively illustrations, and humor to help kids overcome negativity about their artistic endeavors--and to help them redefine what being an artist means. Every page delivers encouragement to the kid who thinks artists all live in cities, or that art has to look like something familiar, or that painting and drawing are the only way to make art. In a world that drastically undervalues creative freedom, Krysa's whimsical paintings and collages joyfully proclaim that art is essential and that artists are everywhere. Additionally, a page at the back of the book includes ideas for art projects--because who wants fewer art projects? Nobody!

School by Britta Teckentrup (9/15/2020; ISBN: 9783791374420; Hardcover $19.95; Ages 8+) takes readers inside a busy school to follow different students through their day--in class, during free time, at lunch, and through swimming lessons.

We come across a variety of faces and expressions that reflect the enormous range of emotions and experiences that each school day brings. There are arguments and hurt feelings, encouraging hugs and deeply felt smiles. The gentle text explores issues that we've all encountered--bullying and loneliness as well as friendship and achievement. While the school in this book could exist anywhere, young readers will recognize themselves in this beautifully and compassionately wrought story by bestselling author Britta Teckentrup, whose warm and wonderfully detailed illustrations are a marvelous portal to feelings, facts, and fun.

This Thing Called Life by Christian Borstlap (10/6/2020; ISBN: 9783791374437; Hardcover $17.95; Ages 5+) shows the many shapes and forms life takes all around us, from the smallest specks of life to the largest creatures.

What is life? It's constantly moving, growing, reproducing, and dying. It's happening now, all the time, and it's everywhere around us. From little helicopter seed pods that float through the air to blue whales in the ocean, the world is filled with all different types of odd and familiar kinds of life. This whimsical picture book helps young readers see the connections between all living things. Author and illustrator Christian Borstlap's furry, feathery, smooth, and spiky creatures crawl, eat, growl, fly, and interact with one another. While most of his creations are imaginary animals, they all depict real things that organisms must do to survive and thrive. Bold and quirky illustrations tug at kids' imaginations and help demonstrate complex concepts that can be hard to put into words. The book leaves lots of room for discussion and for new discoveries with each reading.

School is back in session, and while it may look a little different this year there are some things about our child's education that will always remain the same. Among those? The importance of reading! Whether kids or at home or in the school building, one of the greatest things that we can do for our kids educations is to encourage a love of reading. As such, we are always excited to experience great new books and were thrilled to check out some new release from Prestel Publishing this back to school season.

First up, School. We were familiar with and have enjoyed other works by this author, so we were excited to check this one out. We weren't disappointed. It was a really cute book that really addressed the thoughts and feelings that are often felt in the school atmosphere. The illustrations are gorgeous, drawing in my daughter's attention, but the story itself was beautiful too. My daughter is in first grade now and found it a suitable read for any school aged kid, but I also couldn't help but think it might be one that could be good for those just beginning their school adventure for the first time. Definitely a good addition to any school OR home library!

Next up, This Thing Called Life. We have many books from Prestel in our home library, and the thing that always strikes me about their books is the stunning artwork. This Thing Called Life is a prime example of that. The illustrations for this story are enjoyable for me to look at as an adult, but still eye catching to little eyes too. I think for kids just starting to get into reading, pictures really can make all the difference. Beyond that though, the story is cute too. My daughter and I really enjoyed this one.

Finally, we got to How To Spot An Artist. When it comes to art, it is no secret that some kids (and adults) are more of natural artists than others... and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Still, that doesn't mean that we shouldn't ALL enjoy the creative outlet that art can provide. This book is a beautiful reminder of just that showing that art is anywhere and that anyone truly can be an artist. It truly is a very cute book that I loved for this sweet message. More importantly, my daughter loved it. In fact, this very quickly became a favorite for her.

These books are all fantastic and great additions to your child's back to school reading list.

Prestel Publishing	Instagram: @prestel_usa Twitter: @Prestel_UK Facebook: @prestelpublishing
How to Spot an Artist	IG: @thejealouscurator Twitter: @jealouscurator Facebook: www.facebook.com/thejealouscurator
School	IG: @britta_teckentrup Twitter: @BTeckentrup Facebook: www.facebook.com/britta.teckentrup