Kids, Technology and Electricity: A Book Review

If you are like me and live the Eastern US, you may be experiencing a power outage.  A wind storm, known as a derecho came through Central Virginia last Friday night about 9pm.  It sounded like a train with winds gusting up to 75 miles per hour.  It was the first storm I had experienced that was frightening.  We live in a wonderfully wooded area of the city and I have never seen trees endure such stress.  Miraculously most survived intact, of course many did not.

Kids and technology don't work well without electricity.  We are in our 5th day of no electricity and no clear end in sight for our home.  However, kids and art go well together... even without electricity.

No electricity, no ice.  OpenPhoto.net

What is the up side of all of this?  It's time for crayons, pencils and paper.  It's a time for sleeping on the porch and drawing in the dark or pretending to connect the dots when the fireflies light up.  It's a good time for clay or play dough, if you have access to water. It's a good time to haul out the art books and show the kids some of your favorite images and objects.


A good book to read to your kids when the power is out is Frida Kahlo: The Artist who Painted Herself, written by Margaret Frith and illustrated by Tomie dePaola.

World class artist with a complicated life story

If you are not familiar with Frida Kahlo's life and work, she is a great inspiration to kids because of the obstacles and challenges she faced in her life.  What child doesn't like to play dress up, whether is as a princess or a super hero.  Frida and her costumes and pets will generate some good ideas for art projects.

The text is framed as a little girl's report about an artist with whom she shares a first name, even if they are not spelled exactly the same way.  Frida Kahlo was born in Mexico in 1907.  Her mother was Mexican and her father was German.  As a student she suffered a traumatic accident that left her bed-ridden for long periods of time and would affect her health for the rest of her life.  Her life story is complicated because of her work, her marriage and her interests in politics.  She is one of the most famous and revered artists from Mexico.