OPT: AN ILLUSIONARY TALE

Authors: Arline and Joseph Baum

Publisher: Viking Penguin (A division of Penguin Books, USA Inc.)

Description: Seeing isn't always believing, especially in a book called OPT: AN ILLUSIONARY TALE. Join LeVar as he enters the pages of OPT and walks through a world made up of optical illusions. Viewers will see for themselves how the eye can be fooled, and meet a talented painter who specializes in art that tricks the eye.

Activity Suggestion: Encourage children to use visual imagination by discussing and demonstrating how an indistinct squiggle can be turned into a duck, a person or almost anything. Distribute a variety of squiggles and odd shapes, and encourage students to use their imagination to create a drawing. This can be even more challenging if they create two drawings in one--so the drawing is two different things depending on which way the paper is turned. Ask each child to show their drawing and tell about how they created it.

For activity ideas beyond what is listed, contact Canadian Learning CompanyŽ for information about obtaining a teacher's guide. Call 1-800-267-2977.

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