In the Desert
A picture book by Matthew Alexi Schimpf, otherwise known as MattTheLegoman.
I came second in the Annual Adventist Health Department Teaching Resource Project Competition. My resource will be distributed to members of the ACA Health Benefits Fun.
In the Desert is a story of a 12-year-old girl going through a sad time in her life, told through text and art. She has had problems at home and at school. Perhaps she has been bullied or hurt. Not all the children in school have wonderful lives; we live in a broken world.
One of her skills is that she is artistic. Although we do not get to see her paintbrushes out in the open, we do see her faithful cat. The cat shows what art style is used in the illustration. Art is a useful tool for dealing with and showing emotion.
The girl in the story could be anyone, which is why I wrote in present tense, second person.
For this picture book, the inspiration came from Shaun Tan’s The Red Tree. The Red Tree focuses on the feelings and unspoken ideas that come with depression. I wanted to create a narrative with more hope and strategies for a child dealing with depression.
Many teachers, students, friends, family and artists helped and inspired this work. Thank you for your support.
Edited by MattTheLegoman, 08 November 2015 - 05:13 AM.
