Picture Books - Pablo the Artist

Pablo the Artist by Satoshi Kitamura 2005

If you are seeking delightful and imaginative picture books to share then start with this one. Kitamura has taken a typical artist creative block and turned it into a humorous and inventive situation. Pablo is an elephant on an inspirational mission. He and the rest of his art club have an upcoming exhibit to prepare for. Unfortunately, Pablo is having a difficult time coming up with a painting he thinks is good enough. After discussing the situation with his friends he is off to paint a landscape. Pablo finds the perfect spot and begins to paint. As lunchtime arrives he decides to eat and then take a short nap. While sleeping we are introduced to a number of characters from the landscape that contribute to Pablo’s work. Kitamura does an excellent job in adding each character and their addition to the painting. What is interesting is that you really aren’t sure at this point if Pablo is dreaming or if these landscape characters are actual real. As the story wraps up at the exhibit where Pablo’s painting is a hit, the readers are left to decide for themselves what possibly could have occurred. Kitamura does a great job with the artwork and produces animal characters that are amusing and easy to like. Great for preschool and up.