Four Violet Reviews: I Am Gandhi ~ REVIEW

Yay another fun BLOG TOUR!! Kaden is an exceptional reader and reads probably 6 hours a day. I literally snapped this picture with the packaging I received the book in still in my hand.
And guess what? He has a new favorite series...yes, it's up in his room among his absolute favorites. And I don't blame him. I Am Gandhi is the first in a brand new collection of Graphic Biographies. Say what....where was this genre in the 80's? Brad Meltzer has done something amazing here with this book. As a homeschool Mom we are always looking for away to get our kids to read. But, not just any old book, but books that tell real stories of real people with passion, determination and soul. The story of Gandhi was told beautifully and weaved a message of peace, conviction and love. Kaden and I spent time going over the timeline and actual photos of Gandhi at the back of the book.

We decided to do a few little fun things inspired by the book. Kaden has Autism and is very tactile, so when he read about the Salt March I knew we were going to have to do something with salt. And we did, we made some colored salt art pictures and we made salt dough peace stones to paint and hide around town. Before I share more on that let me give you some more info on this touching book we received from Penguin Young Readers.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Twenty-five exceptional comic book creators join forces to share the heroic story of Gandhi in this inspiring graphic novel biography.

As a young man in India, Gandhi saw firsthand how people were treated unfairly. Refusing to accept injustice, he came up with a brilliant way to fight back through quiet, peaceful protest. He used his methods in South Africa and India, where he led a nonviolent revolution that freed his country from British rule. Through his calm, steady heroism, Gandhi changed the lives of millions and inspired civil rights movements all over the world, proving that the smallest of us can be the most powerful.

Galvanized by Gandhi's example of gentle, peaceful activism, New York Times bestselling author Brad Meltzer asked his friends in the comic book world to help him make a difference by creating this philanthropic graphic novel. Twenty-four illustrators--including many of the most acclaimed artists in comics today--enthusiastically joined the project, agreeing to donate their work so that their royalties can go to Seeds of Peace, a non-profit organization that inspires and cultivates new generations of global leaders. This extraordinary biography is a glorious team effort that truly exemplifies Gandhi's selflessness and love for humanity.

The illustrators included are: Art Adams, John Cassaday, Jim Cheung, Amanda Connor, Carlos D'Anda, Michael Gaydos, Gene Ha, Stephanie Hans, Bryan Hitch, Phil Jimenez, Siddharth Kotian, David LaFuente, David Mack, Alex Maleev, Francis Manapul, David Marquez, Steve McNiven, Rags Morales, Saumin Patel, Nate Powell, Stephane Roux, Marco Rudy, Kamome Shirahama, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Abhishek Singh.

AUTHOR BIO

Brad Meltzer is the New York Times bestselling author of Heroes for My Son, Heroes for My Daughter, and a number of suspense novels like The House of Secrets. He is also the host of the History Channel television shows Brad Meltzer's Decoded and Brad Meltzer's Lost History. He lives in Florida with his wife and their three children.

Like I said we made salt dough peace stones to share some love and happiness with the world and Kaden made salt paintings.

First you need to grab these ingredients....so super simple!
1 cup salt
2 cups of flour
¾ cup of water
**Essential Oil like lemon or peppermint

In a large bowl mix salt, flour and a few drops of essential oil if you want together.
Gradually stir in water. Mix very well until it forms a doughy consistency.
Knead with your hands until smooth and combined.
Make your creations- the sky is the limit.
Place your salt dough creations into the oven at 250F. The amount of time needed to bake depends on the size and thickness of the salt dough creations. Salt dough can also be aired dried and is an alternative to oven drying.(That could take a day or 2 depending on the thickness)

Once cooled you can paint your creations with acrylic paints and seal with varnish or polyurethane spray. Make sure to store your leftover salt dough in an air tight container as it keeps well for a few days.

We also had sun making some fun pictures with colored sand we purchased from a local craft store. We didn't have time to color our own salt this time, but we will be doing that later this summer. Here we just made some designs with regular glue and sprinkled on the fun. A little messy, but that's half of the fun!