Draw 50 Holiday Decorations: The Step by Step way to Draw Bunnies, Valentines, Jack-O-Lanterns, Elves, and Many More.... » (Reissue)

Written with Ray Burns, this volume applies Ames' unique method to the likes of Santa Claus, Tom Turkey and the Easter Bunny.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-6 Ames treats both popular and some less common holidays in chronological order. His preface stresses taking care and time with the drawings, and considering the spaces between the lines as well as the lines in order to get them right. He also suggests holding the picture up to a mirror in order to see any irregularities which might not be visable otherwise. These are all valid points in any drawing instruction, and it is this sort of instruction that sets Ames' works apart from other how-to-draw books. However, his chosen subjects to copy are unoriginal and trite: portraits of Washington, Lincoln, and Martin Luther King, the Liberty Bell, a turkey, an Indian shooting a bow and arrow, pilgrims, a wise man on a camel, reindeer prancing, a wreath, etc. There are decoration ideas for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Passover, Labor Day, and Election Day, which may be hard to find elsewhere. All in all, a predictable purchase, but one not without merit or obvious usefulness and popularity. Patricia Homer, Lowville Academy, N.Y.