As the weather warms and the outside turns lush and green beneath bright blue skies my children love to get outside with paper and pencil to draw the outdoors. They sit in patches of sunlight and draw what they can see, they also often draw what they cannot see, what they imagine to be nestled between the trees, hidden in the shadows, dancing in the daffodils and camouflaged in the clouds.

Drawing Outdoors by Jairo Buitrago and Rafael Yockteng celebrates creativity, imagination and the great outdoors. This is also a story that celebrates teachers and the magic they can weave for their students.

The story tells of a tiny school “between two mountains, near a river, in the middle of nowhere. A school with only a blackboard and some chairs, and one dedicated teacher.

One day as the children arrive the teacher tells them that today they are going to be explorers. They are heading outside with paper and crayons to see what they can see. All the children are excited, even the twins who do not much like school are keen to come and draw outdoors.

By the river their teacher tells them she can see a Brontosaurus. Together they observe the great dinosaur lapping up the water.

On the rocks a Triceratops is standing tall and proud. The children paint it on canvas and draw it in their sketchbooks.

Hidden between stones a Stegosaurus is spotted. The children stop and observe and draw.

For a moment the world is darker. A storm coming or a flight of Pterodactyls covering the sun?

The teacher leads the children on an expedition. Always looking, always listening to the world around them.

Just as they think their adventure is over, there is a roaring among the trees! Only the bravest stay and draw the Tyrannosaurus rex!

This is such a wonderful story of the power of imagination and how children can be inspired by the world around them and motivated by caring creative grown ups.

This is a reminder that we do not always need screens, gadgets and gizmos to have an amazing time. A book to encourage us all to take our learning outside and to engage in imaginative play with our little ones.

Make the ordinary extraordinary. Magic is there for those who believe!

What will you draw outdoors?