Bird's Eye View

I love when I get book post (rather than bills) and it is even more exciting when it inspires an art lesson. 

Max is a lovely story of the friendship between a nice seagull and his old friend Bob. The beautiful illustrations of Max and his home by the sea remind me of Tramore, not far from my own home town. 

My favourite page shows Max flying over roads, rivers, and buildings. I especially liked the sweeping strokes of Max's wings. 

Aerial perspectives can be tricky for younger classes. Start by painting by drawing fields, roads, and rivers, then you can add others details. An aerial view of the beach would be easy to start with too.Laying toy houses, cars, etc on the ground and having the kids look down on them to see how they look from above can help. 

This ties in nicely with geography and older classes could focus on their local area, adding landmarks and other details. 

A seagull could be cut out of white and black paper and glued onto the aerial landscape. 

Here are some aerial views to inspire your artists. 

Another picture book that features seagulls is 'The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch'. I highly recommend this for your class library. There are lots of lesson ideas for this story online and it is nice for this time of year when we are all thinking about summer and the seaside.