This is a super fun read. I really enjoyed this one!

Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Tinkerlab Art Starts by Rachelle Doorley is wonderful. I love that both my 6 year old and my 10 year old could take the prompts their own directions and it managed to keep my son engaged when not everything artistic does. It was also a great way to use a lot of the things in our loose parts/tinker bin. Highly recommend for kids that like process art instead of specific objectives. Grab a cup of coffee and sit back and watch it all happen. I think it's very clear and well written so don't be intimidated if you aren't usually an art teacher. I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

What I like the most about this book are the colorful pictures showing in easy way how to do and what is the result. The book suits well not only educators and parents, but also children themselves. It makes it easy for young curious minds to navigate and make new experiments with minimal help of adults. I would advise the book to parents and educators who are new in ""creative tinkering"" with kids.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the provided advanced copy! All opinions are mine.

This is a fantastic book for parents of kids who love to create! The book starts with an intro and a "how to use this book" section for parents, about the philosophy and also how to set up an art space and supplies and present the project starters to kids. The projects are separated into chapters on crayons/paper/stickers (dry materials), paint/water/sponges (wet materials), paper scraps/felt/glue (collages), and blocks/beads/toothpicks (building). So you as the adult have the ability to choose a project from a section you are comfortable with. The projects list the supplies needed, and many include tips and/or variations. Lots of them seem very open ended for the kids to be totally creative. This seems like a particularly great book for parents with kids in elementary school, and a great tool for winter or summer breaks, or even weekends. There are lots of color photos throughout, showing kids working on the prompts. A list in the back includes brand recommendations for supplies. Very excited for my son to do some of these projects!
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tinkerlab Art Starts is a beautiful book meant to get lots of use from both kids and caretakers. Kids are meant to see what sparks their excitement, and caretakers are meant to guide them. From the beginning, the user is shown how to create an art space that’s both safe and creative. And there’s an agreement that sets boundaries--making sure that kids know to respect the materials, that they’ll be expected to clean up after themselves, that they’ll keep art materials only in the art area, and that they’ll cover the table before they get started. It’s a wonderful framework that shows caretakers how to set up their art space.

The book is organized by the materials being used: crayons, paper, stickers (dry materials); paint, water, sponges (wet materials); paper scraps, felt, glue (collage materials), and blocks, beads, toothpicks (building materials). This makes it easier to figure out what project works in the space.

My favorite projects to try are Project 10 Book Making (from dry materials); Project 16 Tape Painting (from wet materials); Project 31 Tissue Paper Collage (from collage materials); and Project 47 Simple Sewing (from building materials).

Keep in mind this book is more suitable for pre-school and elementary age school kids. Middle school kids may found some projects that could work, but high school kids probably won’t connect with the projects.

Every homeschooling mom and dad with kids 2-14 need this book in their library. The set up is explained so well that you are easily prepared to make the coolest memories with your kids! This is a book accessible to beginners as well as an inspiration to art teachers on communicating to families how best to set up process art. I think I'm going to be adding this to my Christmas giving list for friends with school-age children.

This book is a great way to use the environment as an art teacher. The book has lots of colorful pictures of different settings stations for doing art. It is divided by materials and each material is explain and give tips about how work with the materials as mud. It is a great gift idea for new teachers or for families with young children because the book provides with the materials needs and resources for start an art corner at the house or school.

I am not artsy at all, but I know how important it is for kids to create! This book has so many wonderful invitations -- it will definitely make our homeschool days more colorful. I highly recommend this book for parents and teachers who want to bring more opportunities for art into their kids' lives.

I know I’m not the only parent right now who is looking ahead to this winter and trying pre-plan indoor creative activities to keep my kids busy and engaged. To this end I’ve been searching for books to help me find fun activity for my kids that don’t take a lot work on my end, and so I was excited to find the book Art Starts by Rachelle Doorley.

Most of the art prompts in this book are simple enough that they can be done by very young children, and yet are also open-ended enough that they could also lead to some amazing and elaborate creations by advanced artists.

I think I might try having my kids work through this book in order, but of course it would also be fun just to flip through the pages to find a prompt that strikes you as fun when you are ready to create.

This book releases on November 24 so it would make a perfect holiday gift for a creative child or family. Or now is a great time to request it from your local library so your family can have it to read and work through over winter break!

I received an advanced reader copy of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Tinkerlab Art Starts contains 52 art/creativity prompts for elementary aged children written and presented by Rachelle Doorley. Due out 24th Nov 2020 from Roost Books, it's 176 pages (print version) and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

With the state of the world at the moment (in the middle of a pandemic lockdown), finding fun and constructive/engaging ways to redirect energy can be a sanity saver (for adults *and* kids). These 52 (!!) tutorials are arranged thematically: crayons paper & stickers (dry materials), paint water sponges (wet materials), paper scraps felt glue (collage materials), and blocks beads toothpicks (building materials). The book also includes a glossary and resource list as well as an index. The author has also included a very useful materials master list of all the supplies used in the book grouped thematically by department where they're located (paper, paint, glue/tape, drawing tools, etc).

The introduction includes an overview of safety guidelines and essential tools and supplies. The author provides an intriguing look at process and creativity without direct adult supervision. By introducing materials with an invitation to create (what could these become? What happens if we paint over this crayon? How does this material react with that one?), the child is allowed a much greater latitude for creativity, competence building, problem solving, and learning. Each tutorial includes an introduction, supplies in a bullet list, and open ended directions written in clear accessible language. The tutorials also include instructive photos which can be used as loose general creativity prompts.

The tools and supplies used are almost all easy to find and inexpensive, many can use recycled and upcycled ingredients which would otherwise go to waste.

Four stars. This would be a superlative choice for a maker's group, home library, school or public library group (when we can gather again) as well as for home use, and for babysitters and caregivers.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Loved that this one inspired our family to get creative! My kiddos loved getting to see other children creating the projects, and then being able to see a finished project similar to theirs. Highly recommend for this time during quarantine where we're all looking for things to do, ways to connect and activities to get us thinking!

TinkerLab Art Starts is full of art ideas to engage your youngest kids through grade school. My kids are all currently virtually learning and I think my youngest two would really enjoy many of the projects in the book.

I was provided with an electronic ARC through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Amazing book filled with easy activities to do at home. It made me want to teach Kindergarten again and use the ideas for our weekly art centers.

I loved all of the projects in this book. This book would be great for anyone who likes to be creative and enjoys art. I liked all of the pictures and clear descriptions that were included.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This is a fantastic book to encourage children to play around with art and creative ideas within the home.
The book features 52 simple and cheap to fund activity ideas and shows photographs of the type of art projects look like and what can be done with said materials shown and mentioned/suggested within the book.

In the first section of the book, the author explains about why this type of art is important and useful for your children and suggests ways to get started within the home.

I really enjoyed this book and its fuelled my want to incorporate this into my home with my child more often too.

An interesting book of ideas to enhance your child's imagination and creativity.Highly recommended for people who wants to follow Reggio Emilia or STEM .Teachers and parents both can benefit from this book .

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for provide me with a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
Muy entretenido para explorar la creatividad, mas en estos tiempos de pandemia. Recomendado, para los que buscan una actividad creativa de este tipo para relajarse en estos tiempos de estrés y locura. Cada vez disfruto mas estos libros. Recomendado.

I've done a few of these projects now with my daughter, who loved them all. This will be a great hit with families at my library.

This is a great compilation of simple process art projects for children. The author goes into lots of details in the beginning about what process art is, why it's so great for kids, how to set up an art-friendly home, how to work time for it into the day, and more. Then there are 52 simple projects, arranged by chapters like paint and dough.

Each project covers a two-page spread, with a full page color photo of children doing the project on one page and then instructions, materials, etc. on the next. The format makes it great to see exactly how to set it up and why it's fun. All kinds of kids are shown in the photos. The projects are open ended enough to work for younger or older children, and for kids of different ages to do together. They are easy to set up.

Example projects -- draw a bunch of circles in black on a paper and invite your child to draw or paint things in them, put googly eyes randomly on paper and invite your child to draw the people or creatures around them, put out play dough and loose parts like buttons, use pipettes to drop liquid watercolors or food coloring/water onto coffee filters or paper towels on cookie sheets, cut out a bunch of strange shapes in construction paper for kids to glue into creations they imagine with them, wrap colorful yarn around twig shapes...

Another reviewer said the projects would just make a huge mess. These are not particularly messy art projects compared to any other. Art is supposed to be messy and it makes me sad to think that someone would avoid all art with kids that involved simple materials like paint and glue. Some of these projects include things like stickers and crayons, which aren't messy at all. That's beside the point though. Children deserve to make messes and you can nicely show them how to clean it up when they're done.

All in all, this is a great idea book, especially well suited for parents who are new to the idea of process art or who are looking for simple inspiration. Most of the materials are commonly found in most homes or easy to find locally or online.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

A few of the activities at the end were ok but they all seemed useless in entertaining by nephew. Only good to make a huge mess.