(Miss Anne’s favorite book of 2019!)
When a young boy visits his grandfather, their lack of a common language leads to confusion, frustration, and silence. But as they sit down to draw together, something magical happens – – with a shared love of art and storytelling, the two form a bond that goes beyond words.
WATCH and LISTEN to Minh Lê talk about and read his book Drawn Together, illustrated by Dan Santat:
EXTEND LEARNING:
Activity Guide
- The publisher provides an activity guide which also includes a Q & A with the author.
Family Activities
- This blog article has kid-friendly craft ideas on how to make a family tree.
- Scholastic has articles and resources on family togetherness.
Use Art to Communicate
Drawn Together is not wordless, but it has sparse text and relies heavily on the art to communicate, and of course the boy and his grandfather rely on art to communicate.
Wordless picture books promote comprehension, vocabulary, and listening skills and an understanding of story structure and character development. Wordless picture books are a great way to improve narrative skills. Find a wordless picture book to “read” and after reading it, show it to your grown up and explain, page by page, what is happening. Here are some examples of wordless picture books:
- Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Idle in Overdrive
- Pool by JiHyeon Lee in Overdrive
- Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie DePaola in Overdrive
- The Lion and the Mouse by Brian Pinkney in Hoopla
Sharing and Caring Across Generations
Do you have grandparents or anyone else in your life that speaks a different language than you do? How do you communicate with them? Do you feel like there is anyone in your life that doesn’t understand you, whether it is because of a language barrier or something else? Is there someone in your life that you don’t understand, whether it is because of a language barrier or not? TALK, WRITE, or DRAW about these questions.
What kind of things do you like to do with your grandparents or any other older person in your life? WRITE or DRAW as many as you can think of.
The next time you talk to a grandparent or other older relative, ask them to tell you a story from their childhood, or any type of story.
STEM
Drawn Together even inspires some STEM activities. Find different ways to build a bridge: use as many different materials as you can. Try to make a paper bridge, a LEGO bridge, drinking straws, books, and more. Need some ideas? Here’s just one round up of bridge-building ideas!