I Wish I Could Draw

By Cary Fagan

When the narrator of this sneakily clever book decides he will try to draw even though he believes he isn’t very good at it, a world of silly possibilities opens for him. By the end of the story, he has vanquished a dragon, been given a medal, published a book, and seen his artwork on display in a real museum—and all because he refused to be held back by his own perceived limitations.

The narrator of I Wish I Could Draw shares a name with creator Cary Fagan and has the same curly hair and glasses. Perhaps most interesting of all, though, the narrator believes he has no artistic talent—just like the Cary Fagan who not only wrote but also bravely and exuberantly illustrated this book. Fortunately for readers, both Cary-the-narrator and Cary-the-children’s-book-creator refused to let self-doubt stop them from trying to tell (and draw) the funniest and most exciting story they could think of. The result is a book that delivers plenty of excitement, silly jokes and fun—and also an important message about self-confidence and perseverance.

Designed to look like a child’s notebook, I Wish I Could Draw will inspire readers to pick up a pencil and let their imaginations do the rest.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Groundwood Books
• Release date: Apr 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781554983193

Cary Fagan

Cary Fagan is an award-winning children’s author whose work includes the Kaspar Snit novels, bestsellers in his native Canada. He lives with his family in Toronto. To learn more, please visit www.caryfagan.com.

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Reviews for I Wish I Could Draw

[sullywriter_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Self-deprecating and encouraging.

[amandalk-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is truly lovely, but because of the style, being neither informational, nor autobiographical, with fictional elements but not entirely fictional, I can't really tell what the genre is. The author draws the illustrations, all the while complaining about how he can't draw and that the drawings aren't really that good, but then he starts drawing things he likes, he draws a short story, then comes to the conclusion that maybe he isn't that bad after all. I love how he incorporates different elements of drawing into his book and teaches us something, while describing his work, and then telling us a story. I would love to use this book to start a class discussion in my drawing class about what a good drawing is.