I like the idea of Her Idea. I think it’s a good kid’s book to exist, but the ending needed some more work. I know that’s strange to say in the beginning of a review, but this isn’t going to be a very long review so we may as well dive right into it. The premise of Her Idea is one that we’ve all gone through. It’s the creative process captured wonderfully in the visual form. Our main character has no name, but we see her having a flood of ideas. With each new idea another one comes, but when she sits down to capture the ideas they begin to fade away. She asks for help and soon enough she begins to capture her ideas.
The story really captures the creative process and not just for kids. I go through this all the time and so it was actually a nice reminder. In that regard I think it’s very successful in showing kids the creative process and partially what to do with it. It could honestly help a lot of kids become more creative and yeah usually they don’t need help, but I think some do. It’s hard to channel that creativity into something useful or fulfilling and this will help.
I just wish the ending was a bit better. The ending isn’t rewarding and while it doesn’t tank the story it could have done more. I get what the author was going for, but in practice it falls short of the goal and instead looks like an easy out for the story.
The art is beautiful. Each page is a two-page spread and the art goes from one side to the other. The character designs are charming and wonderfully illustrated. I enjoyed looking at the illustrations a lot and could get some re-reading value from that alone. It too does a great job of capturing the creative process and adds a lot to the narrative.
Overall I would recommend this book to parents with kids that are or aren’t creative. I think everyone should nurture their creative side and that Her Idea can help. It’s not perfect, but then most things aren’t and I don’t think an ending ruins the core here.
Score: 4/5
Writer/Artist: Rilla Alexander Publisher: Nobrow/Flying Eye Books Price: $19.95 Release Date: 4/14/15 Format: Hardcover; Print