Yankees Aren’t the Only Dandy Doodlers

What if doodling, the timeless art of stream-of-consciousness drawing in the margins of important papers (or on whatever happens to be lying around) while some speaker drones on incessantly, were encouraged as a stepping stone to artistic development, rather than denounced as a useless hobby of ADD sufferers? It’s a great question, but unfortunately anyone looking to formally discover an answer will have to get in line behind Taro Gomi, the illustrious Japanese children’s author whose book Doodle All Year (Chronicle Books, 2008) not only promotes doodling as an art form, but provides hundreds of charmingly child-like, barely-there sketches with which to prime the pump.

Gomi, who won our hearts with the unequivocally titled Everyone Poops and garnered widespread acclaim for his Scribbles, Squiggles and Doodles series, gives specific directions at times (“draw a winter rainbow,”; “this horse needs a rider,” for example) but more generally uses the transitions of seasons as a template for children (or grownups, for that matter) to let their hearts/minds/markers run free. Whether one is seeking to encourage youthful creativity, or simply looking for a great book to help energetic youngsters survive the family road trip, one would be hard-pressed to find a more useful tool than this one. You'll be thrilled to hear that Chronicle Books is giving away a free copy of Doodle All Year to one lucky reader. To qualify, visit Chronicle Books, then come back here to tell us which book you would most love to add to your library. Tell us in a second post if you subscribe to Wishing Willow, since our subscribers receive an extra entry in the contest. To post without a Google account, just click “anonymous.” Be sure to also leave your email address. The winner will be chosen randomly. Contest ends 1/23/09.

We have a winner! Congratulations kellyache who said, "Aaacckkk!! I've been wanting to get the Scribbles colouring books forever! For me, Logo by M. Evamy would be a fantastic addition to my design library." Congrats!