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February Read and Visual Book Notes

As part of Wendy MacNaughton's 30 Days of Drawing (in January), one day was a lesson on drawn journaling.  In it, she provided examples of authors/illustrators who have used this form in their books.  One of those books that caught my eye was 'Radioactive: Pierre and Marie Curie' by Lauren Redniss.  So, I ordered a copy.

After receiving the book and reading through the first couple pages, I realized I needed to create a mind-map/flow-chart to keep track of the information.  This would be my way of summarizing the story in visual form.  With clipboard, cardstock and pens in place, I began reading the book and creating my visual notes -- and finished all in one sitting.

As for the book, it is very well-written, interesting and informative, and the artful pages make it additionally engaging.  No wonder it was a finalist for the National Book Award! 

As for me, I loved it!  Also, I really like my visual notes because they capture the main points/relationships/events, etc.  I wonder what my teachers in school would have thought about using this technique for book reports.  The only thing missing in the drawing are my thoughts about the information and/or how it relates to the world and my life.  Interesting to consider how this could be added.

Book Face

Mind-Map/Flow-Chart

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