There are many ways to build out from books with activities. And the act of expanding out from books with activities opens up a wide world of adventures for your child.
I’m a fan of activities that are simple and easy to get started with. These activities also can be expanded as the child chooses. They may decide to go into more detail, do the activity multiple time, or take it in a fresh direction. I also seek out activities that build on the child’s natural interests.
I will say that there are a lot of activities out there that look great at first – but turn out to be too complicated on closer examination. Have you ever run into that situation? Another issue is that activities can be heavily weighted towards teaching – too heavily and that can feel boring to a child.
The activity described in this article – “Draw Like an Illustrator” – is simple, enjoyable, and effective. The materials needed are very simple and on-hand in everyone’s home.
Copying Illustrations as an Activity
Kids love illustration. Many want to copy the work for their favorite illustrators.
Copying is a great tool for learning about how artists each have their own specific styles.
Copying can be done freehand or by tracing.
You can use the same medium the artist used, or work with what you have on hand.
One note of caution: Some children may feel overly pressured to exactly replicate the artist’s work and that can produce stress. If that happens with your kids, then this activity may not be the right choice for them.
How We Drew Like an Illustrator At Our House
We tried drawing in Mo Willems’ style!
Mo Willems is the author of the popular and award-winning Pigeon and Elephant & Piggy book series. He also wrote Knuffle Bunny (a Caldecott Honor Book).
And you may also know that he wrote for the long-running television series Sesame Street for years.
I am forever thankful to a mom we met randomly at our local library for introducing us to the Elephant & Piggy books. Her one short comment was this – “Oh hey, do you know these books, they are so funny!” Those quick words led us to hours and hours of fun and laughs!
Mo’s artwork is simple. To create illustrations in Mo’s style from scratch will be a greater challenge than it may first appear. But have no fear! Because copying the illustrations is easy and fun!
Materials Needed
- Pens of any kind (We used a Sarasa Porous Pen)
- Paper (We used 20# white – also known as regular, ordinary copy paper!)
- A few Mo Willems books
- That’s it! So fun and simple
Activity Instructions
- Pick a picture in the book that you like.
- Draw part of the illustration. Start with just part of it before attempting to copy the full illustration.
- Next try copying a full illustration from one page of the book.
- Try drawing with a pencil versus a pen. What do you notice? What about using a thin-tipped pen versus a thick-tipped pen? Or a crayon versus a pencil or pen.
- Draw alongside your child if it makes sense. Some kids like this, others will compare their work to yours too much (when this happens pick a different activity to do while they draw).
- Talk about the medium that Mo used for his illustrations. Can you figure it out from the pictures? Hint: It “might” say what medium was used on the copyright page of the book. But if not, that’s not problem. Expand your learning over to his websites and see if you can find out how he creates his artwork. Presto, you’re doing an author examination! See what else is interesting to your child as you learn more about Mo. It’s fun to see how one activity can take you on a deep dive of a subject!
More Drawing Like an Illustrator
This activity can be replicated for illustrations your child likes in any of the books they read. Children LOVE pictures! From picture books to graphic novels to books with photo illustrations (which leads to taking photos with a camera in the same style).
Inviting them into this activity helps reinforce their self-esteem by honoring the type of illustrations that speak to them. It’s also a good way to reinforce their ability to identify what they like (versus what someone might influence them to like), and to strengthen their self-advocacy skills (standing up for what is important to them).
Other ways to do this activity include:
- Free hand draw
- Use a medium of their choice (i.e. pencil, pen, marker, paint, etc)
- Trace (use tracing paper, or any thin paper you can see through)
- Research the medium used by the artist (check the copyright page for details or research online)
- Use the medium of the artist to model the artist’s work OR create something in their own style
An Activity With Endless Possibilities!
This activity is open ended and lends itself to endless possibilities.
Any and all of the above options allow for individual choice, inspire learning, and develop the use of children’s hands.
Most important … this activity is fun!
Always remember, children LOVE pictures.
More than words (at least initially).
Adults, please try this too. What can you create?
Example Artwork InspirationShown Inspired By
The artwork shown as an example of “draw like an illustrator” was inspired by the book The Duckling Gets a Cookie, words and picture by Mo Willems.
This book is part of the very wonderful (and also quite popular) Pigeon series of books – – written and illustrated by Mo Willems for young children.
The Pigeon books are super as read-aloud titles for children in the little years, starting in preschool. Children who are beginning to learn to read typically thrive on this series as well as the Elephant & Piggy books also by Mr. Willems.
The Duckling Gets a Cookie was published in 2012 by Hyperion Books for Children. Our copy published by Scholastic for the school market.
- Buy new at Bookshop.org
- Buy used at Thriftbooks.com
I want to repeat this activity – only next time we want to try using a brush marker pen which I think is one of the pen types used by Mo (I saw him use a brush pen in a Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems video – find those at Kennedy Center’s YouTube Channel, just do a quick search to find).
Buy More Mo Willems Books
Mo Willems is a prolific author and author illustrator for children. He’s written many, many superbly wonderful stories. Quite a few are award winners.
If you’re looking to get started with his books, here are some links where you can purchase some of the titles we recommend the most.
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale – Winner of the Caldecott Medal. Buy new at Bookshop.org.
I Love My New Toy! – An Elephant and Piggy Book – From this link you can explore more Elephant & Piggy books.
City Dog, Country Frog – This book is written by Mo Willems with illustrations by Jon J. Muth. It’s a beautiful story about the journey of life. Touching and memorable. Buy new at Bookshop.org.
The Story of Diva and Flea written by Mo Willems and illustrated Tony Diterlizzi – Fabulous early chapter book for independent readers about 8 or 9 and older, or read aloud to younger children. Buy new at Bookshop.org.
Remember to visit your local library to check out books by Mo Willems. There should be lots on hand for you to enjoy!
Article Notes
This article was first published May 17, 2020 and updated December 10, 2023.
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