"Lunchtime for a Purple Snake"

Lunchtime for a Purple Snake
Author: Harriet Ziefert
Illustrator: Todd McKie
Genre: Picture Book
Subgenre: Realistic Fiction,Art
Theme: Creativity, Learning from Elders
Primary/Secondary Characters: Grandpa, Jessica
Date of Publication: Year 2003
Publishing Company: Houghton Mifflin Company

Summary: Jessica is a young girl who visits her grandfather, who is a painter. Her grandfather instructs her how to paint, and just how to make the perfect picture. He teaches Jessica what colors mix together to make other colors, and what colors mix together to make a not so pretty color. He teaches Jessica how to not ruin her pictures by adding too much paint, and then tells her to create her own masterpiece. She creates a picture of a snake, and her grandfather adds his own personal creativity to it, and then tells her to title her own picture. She names it "Lunchtime for Purple Snake", as it is a photo of a snake in the garden, eating a big green insect. This book can be used in the classroom, especially in an art setting where students are learning colors and what mixes together. It can be used alongside an art project, as its concepts easily relate. It also teaches students how their elders can teach them life lessons, and talents that they possess, as well. Students can identify easily with this book, and it's concepts should be addressed in the classroom.