The Magic Paintbrush does exactly what it says. The story by Julia Donaldson follows a village girl who is given a magic paintbrush but told to only use it for the poor and not for the wealthy. When the girl paints, whatever she paints comes to life. What a brilliant notion for children.
She meets the Emperor who asks her to paint certain things for him. She refuses as she only paints for the poor. The Emperor becomes annoyed and puts her in prison. During the night while the Emperor is sleeping, the girl paints a horse and a key. She escapes and rides off into the distance. There is a little more to the story, but that is the general overview.
What makes this book so special is its use of rhyme. The whole story is told in rhyme and the words are clear and comprehensible for children. Joel Stewart has illustrated the book and uses what appears to be watercolour images. The images are warm and truly vibrant. They illustrate movement making the images almost come off the page.
Another great stimulus for teaching. Children can be given their own choices about what to paint if they had a magic paintbrush.
It really is a beautiful book and magical too.
Love the cover, it looks gorgeous!
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