Art for Art's Sake: Louise Loves Art! by Kelly Light

SO LITTLE TIME, SO MUCH TO DRAW!

Louise loves her art. Spreadeagled on the floor, she dashes off sketch after sketch, as her little brother Arthur watches enviously. Louise can't help holding forth on her passion as she works.

TO BE A GREAT ARTIST, YOU HAVE TO NOTICE EVERYTHING!

EVERY LINE..., EVERY CURVE...

The cat wanders in and suddenly Louise has a new model.

WAIT! HOLD THAT POSE!

As Louise throws all her energy into capturing her model's essential cathood, little Arthur gets his red crayon and draws a pair of red glasses just like the one's his big sister wears. With his little paper scissors he cuts out the glasses and puts them on to look just like Louise.

But Louise is oblivious of her little imitator and declares her cat drawing her piece de resistance! She admires it as she declares it worthy of... The Gallery du Fridge! But first... she letters five signs to tape to the walls to lead the public to to her one-woman show.

THIS
WAY
TO
THE
ART!

But while she's busy, little Art picks up her cat drawing and uses it to cut out a string of paper dolls, giving each figure red glasses just like Louise's. He holds them up proudly for her to see.

"ART!! HOW COULD YOU!!"

But like the artist she is, Louise looks again and really sees Art's artwork.

"OH, ART! I LOVE IT!"

Louise gets it that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery in Kelly Light's sweet sibling story, Louise Loves Art (Balzer and Bray, 2014). The author-illustrator's own artwork is breezily retro, with the look of a 'sixties' cartoon that almost seems to move across the page. Light artfully skirts sentimentality in this tale of a sister and brother who come together in a moment of mutual admiration for art and for each other.

Not mushy-gushy Valentine fare, but a story that celebrates love between brother and sister!