On May 20^th I attended a reading, workshop and book signing for the dynamic (and VERY kind) Hervé Tullet. Hervé is a New York Times Best Selling Author of children’s books that encourage imagination and creativity. He stopped by the Columbus Museum of Art for a few days to work with families and children. I was happy to see so many multicultural families at the workshop!

I hit the road early Friday morning with my friend Claire to make it to the event on time. Hervé began by setting his books on the edge of the stage for the children to see then bent over to pick up a book to read. He entertained us with his funny sounds and movements. In addition to his books Press Here, Let’s Play! and Mix It Up!, he read some of his books in French! If he made a funny sound, we repeated it but he had us do this over and over again until he was satisfied! Because many of his books are interactive, he chose children to help him read them to the audience. My favorite moment was when he read his book The Game of Shadows. Suddenly he got a “phone call,” cued the lights to turn off and used his cell phone to shine a light though the cardboard cut-outs of the book. The light made eerie shadows on the auditorium ceiling and the kids loved it! I was smiling and laughing gleefully throughout the entire experience.  😀

Next we walked upstairs (like a happy herd of families + artist) to paint under his instruction. Long strips of white paper were taped on the floor with cups of paint and paintbrushes beside them. He instructed us to paint a dot, paint a bigger dot, paint a circle, paint dots in the circles and move, move, move! It was like a collaborative art project-musical chairs and in the end we created a beautiful field of flowers, together. I overheard one child say “Oopsie!” as he painted a flower but his mother said to him “That’s alright; you can’t make any mistakes.” That interaction stood out to me because it represents the message of Hervé Tullet’s art and books; have fun and enjoy!!

The last part of the event was a book signing where Hervé beautifully signed a copy of Press Here for me. For every family, he pulled out his paint markers and dabbed, dotted and listened intently as he vigorously created beautiful art inside their books. I was pleased to learn that every family got a free copy of his book Art Workshops for Children.

Now that I’ve met Hervé Tullet, I’m even more excited to share his books with the world because I know where he comes from. His spirit is beautiful. I hope that many families and classrooms can experience the excitement, wonder and energy that he tucks inside his books. Get painting (and reading)!

Merci beaucoup for a great day of painting, fun and laughs, Hervé!