Spaceships, Aliens, and Robots You Can Draw (Ready, Set, Draw!)

By: Nicole Brecke and Patricia M. Stockland
Publisher: Millbrook Press
Publication Date: January 2010
ISBN: 978-0761341673
Reviewed by: Deb Fowler
Review Date: March 2010

If you are the type who can always be found doodling away on some fantastical creatures in the margins of your notebook paper during class time, you just might be interested in learning how to draw something like a cyborg or UFO. Any youngster who knows anything about outer space knows that "cyborgs are part human, part robot, and totally amazing." If you want some amazing results with your drawing you'll only need to gather up some basic supplies such as colored pencils, paper, a regular lead pencil, an eraser, a pencil sharpener and get ready to draw. The first step is to read the three critical steps you'll need to pay attention to in order to "help you make your drawing the correct size." With a bit of ingenuity, imagination and a lot of practice you can be wowing your friends with your "out of this world" creations!

Each of the sections on "how to draw" a creature or a spacecraft begins with a blurb about what you are going to draw. For example, you can read a very interesting paragraph about robotic dogs. You'll learn that "Engineers have created lots of different robotic dogs, each kind with its own set of tricks and tools." Once you have your tools together, you can begin to draw because each drawing has step-by-step instructions with accompanying visuals. In this book you will learn to draw an alien, a UFO, a robotic dog, a giant robot, a cyborg, an astronaut, a Mars Rover and a space shuttle. If you really want to make your space shuttle 'authentic' you can follow the instructions and draw the NASA logo on its side. Do you know where the word 'astronaut' comes from? If not, you can learn about it in this book.

Any youngster who loves anything 'outer space' and loves to draw is going to have a great time drawing the space creations in this book. I tried drawing a couple of the creations in this book, the first one being the UFO. This one was relatively easy with only five steps, but I can see that I'll need a lot of practice. Some of the drawings will demand that the individual already possess a modicum of talent, especially for the steps that demand a little freehand drawing. I'd add a bit of tracing paper and a ruler to the list of supplies to use during practice sections. This is a great book and the creatures and spacecrafts are phenomenal, but keep in mind this is not exactly a beginner's book. In the back of the book is an index and additional recommended book and website resources.

Quill says: I've read a few in the series and if you have a budding artist, you can't lose because every book in the "Ready, Set, Draw" series is a winner!