Last week, Robbi asked kids to draw an illustration of their favorite song.
Specifically, she asked:
Here’s this week’s drawing prompt: Draw a picture of your favorite song. What is the song about? Are there characters in the song? Is it a happy or sad song?
As usual, kids came out swinging.
Here’s Tyler’s drawing of that eternal classic Gangnam Style.
And here are his thoughts on the matter:
The name of my song is called Gangnam Style. The person is Psy. He’s dancing gangnam style in the pool. There’s a lifeguard sitting in a chair on the side watching him. My favorite part of the song is the toilet part because he’s going potty. That’s why I like it.
Though it probably wasn’t Psy’s intention when he made this video, Our kids love Gangnam Style, too. In fact, I’ve never met a kid who doesn’t.
If you haven’t seen it, you probably live under a rock. But if that’s the case, have a look. 1.5 billion people can’t be wrong:
And when you’re done, if you want further inspiration, check out Robbi’s version of the Gangnam Style dance. And you thought all she could do was draw pictures:
And here’s Spencer’s stirring rendition of Katy Perry’s stirring song Fireworks
Says Spencer:
My favorite song is “Fireworks.” It’s by Katy Perry. It’s my favorite song because it’s about my birthday… and America’s birthday. This is a picture of me and my family. People are giving me presents because it’s my birthday on 4th of July. It looks like there’s a waterfall spraying on my mommy but in real life it’s behind her. I also drew a beautiful American flag. It’s at night time. That’s why there are fireworks.
Man, I wish Katy Perry had written a song about my birthday. Some guys have all the luck.
As for Joe, he shared his drawing of The Itsy Bitsy Spider.
According to Joe’s mom, Joe took an unconventional approach to rendering the water spout. Check it out:
Note: the water spout was not exactly a drawing…
It’s a little installation~ Joe cut the shape out from a thick plastic bag (a recycled packaging for rice, to be exact) and distressed it by using crayon on stone to reach the effect he desires.
I’ve always been impressed with Joe’s drawing, but now he’s employing experimental art techniques. These kids are already leaving me in the dust. I’m definitely going to stick to writing from now on.
Here is Alden’s drawing of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.
First off, we had no idea that she knew what music notes were, let alone that she knew how to draw them. To which she responded (with some indignation), “I’m learning a lot every day,” as if we should know better than to underestimate her.
Second, the central pink figure is a princess. No drawing of Alden’s is complete without a princess. All princesses must be pink. Hence, a pink princess. The princess is Alden. To the right of the princess is a twinkling star. I tell you this for fear that you will otherwise mistake it for a demented flower.
At one point in the artistic process, Alden paused to to sing and remind herself how much she enjoys Twinkle, Twinkle.
And here is Kato’s drawing, inspired by his favorite song, Nine Bowls of Soup, which is part of the amazing They Might Be Giants album Here Come the 123s.
In the song, a cantakerous Ichthyosaur balances the aforementioned nine bowls of soup on his head in spite of the objections of a conscientious bird. Though you probably can’t tell, Kato’s drawing fairly faithfully mirrors a slide from the video (which comes bundled when you buy the CD). You will see that the large purple mass is a mountain and the small blue shape just to the right of the top of the mountain is the bird in question. The various objects to the right of the mountain are the bowls of soup. The Ichthyosaur is nowhere in site. Apparently, Kato was not feeling up to drawing an Ichthyosaur last night.
Here are the cast of characters:
Here’s the artist at work:
And here is the video itself, which I strongly recommend watching if you have time. And then buy the album for the small person in your life. And then buy Here Come the ABCs, too.
We listened to these albums back to back to back 11 times on a drive from Atlanta to Chestertown, and I did not lose my mind. They are the rare songs that kids love and parents can appreciate. And I’m pretty convinced they are the reason Kato learned his numbers and ABCs so young.
I said I wasn’t going to draw any more, but I changed my mind. After all, it doesn’t matter if my drawings aren’t as good as other people’s drawings. I draw because I love to draw. And Robbi loves my drawings. And that is enough for me.
Here is my drawing of my favorite song. Before I tell you what it is, can anyone guess?
Maybe any of you parents who share my love of a particular raspy-voiced troubadour?
My favorite song has always been Tangled Up in Blue by Bob Dylan. Though this is the first time I’ve ever thought of that line as anything but a metaphor.
Thanks, everyone for sending us your drawings. This was a fun prompt. Be sure to check in on Friday when we post the new one.