Making Faces

I love how Hanoch Piven makes faces! Children love them, too. Two years ago the second graders made self-portraits after reading his book My Dog is as Smelly as Dirty Socks (which contains such playful language as well as the creative portraits made out of objects). Their simile and object combinations led to pictures of themselves that were surprisingly accurate. 

His latest book, Let's Make Faces, sets limits on the found objects used in the portraits. Using fruits and vegetables only, for example, the colorful faces feature a zucchini nose or a corncob mouth. From the garden, the faces are constructed from seed pods, bark, nuts, and leaves. Other sets come from tools. Emotions expressed on faces add to their animation and intrigue. Tips for how to gather objects and make faces of your own are included at the end. The book encourages observation and imagination!

I can imagine spending a day making faces with little people I love. And maybe the older people, too.

The photo is of a cookie made by my Iibrarian friend Kim who loves to add googly eyes to her chocolate chip cookies. Its expression mirrors how I might have looked several times during this school week.