Free Brilliant Hues by Naomi Kinsman Page B

Sadie, can you draw a crab and an otter?”
    Right. Put
me
on the spot for the hard part. I drew a rough outline of an otter on its back, and added a rock for the crab to lounge on.
    Pips went on. “The otter would make me laugh, and the crab would help us gather food with his pinchers.”
    Kids hands shot up all across the room.
    “I’d be a giraffe because I want to be taller than everyone else. But I’d have a mouse friend who sat on my head, so she’d really be the tallest of all. I’d help her.”
    “I’d be a dog and I’d be good at all kinds of tricks. AndI’d work at a library so I could go fetch all the books that people wanted.”
    “I’d be a kangaroo who hopped higher than anyone on the trampoline. And I’d join the circus.”
    How did they think of these things? I took out paper and pencils. No need for me to show more examples. There were ready to go.
    “But I don’t know how to draw an elephant,” a little girl with two bright red pigtails said.
    To tell the truth, I’d have a hard time drawing an elephant off the top of my head. “Um …” And then I remembered the shelves of picture books Jess had shown us in her office.
    “Jess, could we borrow some of your picture books?”
    “Sure. I’ll go get some.” She hurried out, leaving us alone with the kids.
    It was fine. We’d be fine. Pips gave me an encouraging look, and I tried to smile back.
    I cleared the smart board page. “You can look in the books for examples of the animals you want to draw. Then, look for the main shapes. For instance, an elephant needs a big round body …” I drew an oval, and then added to my picture as I explained. “You’d need four rectangle legs, and a roundish head, and a rope-like tail.”
    “What about the ears?” As soon as I saw his cape, I knew he must be Fritz.
    I held up my pen, and then paused. I didn’t want to admit I had no idea how to draw the ears, but I probably couldn’t stall until Jess returned with the books.
    “You know what,” I said finally. “I can’t picture the ears. That’s why the books are so helpful. When Jess gets back, I’ll find an elephant picture and add ears.”
    One of the girls smiled shyly at me. I think she was Isabel, the girl Jess said never spoke. Maybe admitting I didn’t know everything wasn’t the worst thing in the world.
    Pips and I passed out paper and distributed cups of colored pencils, and just as all the kids were settled, Jess came back with books.
    “Miss Sadie,” the little girl with pigtails called. “Help me find a picture of an elephant.”
    “I need an alligator!” the boy with the chalky cheeks shouted.
    Pips and I hurried around the room helping the kids find books and draw their animals.
    “Miss Sadie.” Charlotte waved me over to the bookshelf. “I can’t find a book with tulips.”
    We flipped through book after book, and I found roses, violets, and daisies. Charlotte found lupines and lilies.
    “Cici likes tulips,” Charlotte insisted, her eyes bright. “And anyway, the flowers under her window are tulips, so that’s what I’m going to draw.”
    She took my hand and led me back to her table. When she sat down, she took a scrap piece of paper and started sketching. After her first and second try, she tilted her head to look at her flowers.
    “They should look softer,” she finally said.
    Smart girl. Her tulips were roughly the right shape, but she had trouble making the curves smooth.
    “Maybe if you held your pencil a little more loosely,” I suggested.
    She tried again, and beamed up at me. “Yes!”
    I’d worn that look before, many times, after Vivian had taught me some trick or other—pure happiness. I grinned and slid the fresh sheet of paper in front of her.
    “I can’t wait to see your field of tulips.”
    Three other kids were calling for me, so I hurried away to help. The class kept us so busy that I still hadn’t drawn my elephant ears by the time the kids started finishing and waving their