Painting Pepette

Sometimes the greatest books are the ones we just stumble across at the library.  Literally, we saw this book as we were headed out.  We liked the cover and the title so we threw it in our pile.  Painting Pepette by Linda Ravin Lodding turned out to be a great find for many reasons!  Reason #1- the story takes place in 1920s Paris.  We love all things Paris!!  Reason #2- the story is about a girl named Josette and her beloved stuffed rabbit, Pepette.  Our  4 year old has a favorite stuffed poodle and her name is Puppa!  Reason #3- the story details Josette and Pepette's search through Montmartre to find just the right artist to paint Pepette's portrait.  They meet Chegall, Dali, Picasso, and Matisse along the way!  We are always trying to incorporate art and history into our everyday life.  What a wonderful book to subtly introduce little artists to different styles of painting.

We don't want to give away the ending, but once we finished the story we were inspired to immediately get out our paints, easel and brushes and paint a portrait of our beloved Puppa.  She's been with us since our 4 year old's first Valentine's Day.  We didn't know it at the time, but Puppa became "The One".  You know, the one that your little can't sleep without, the one that gets so much love that its color has faded and dulled.  The one that was once plump with new stuffing and now has a floppy neck.  The one with a lopsided smile because her thread mouth has pulled away.  The one with once curly hair that is now flat and matted.  The one who has been banned from ever leaving the house for fear she will be lost.  The one we dressed as for halloween!  That's the one!  Our Puppa!

We couldn't wait to spend the day painting Puppa!

Step one was to paint the background of our canvas.  We first tried water colors but then switched to tempera for a bolder look.  And of course, like all great artists, we wore our butterfly wings while we painted!

 Puppa, being our muse, sat ever so patiently while we painted her portrait.  (I used pink chalk to draw a rough outline of her to make it easier)

 Puppa never complained!  That's exactly why we love her so!

Once our portrait was dry we used marker to add details; her eyes, nose, mouth and curls.  We then glued ribbons in her hair.  We had so much fun painting our Puppa!

Who's your little's "Pepette"?  Check out this adorable book and let your little paint a portrait of their beloved.  You will be so glad that you did!

If you like this activity, click here to see some of our other book activity ideas!

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