Pick Up Your Pen: The Art of Handwriting

At first a seemingly simple workbook to encourage children (or anyone!) to practice handwriting, Pick Up Your Pen is actually an invitation to envision handwriting as an art form. As less and less time is spent on handwriting in school, this book is a creative — and appealing — way to get kids practicing this skill without it feeling like homework.

The book features contemporary italic script, rather than traditional cursive, and takes a modern approach to handwriting that will appeal to children who are used to seeing type on a screen. In fact, Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, credits his lessons in italic script for the clean fonts showcased by Apple products.

Author Monica Dengo encourages readers to see the rhythm and musicality of a line and to become artists with every stroke of the pen. And the high production values will make them feel like they are "writing" their own book. Each page also offers a lesson in letter forms and proportions and leaves ample room for children to doodle and experiment. It's a book that enables kids to explore a new (or maybe retro) form of self-expression.