EL 111 – CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENT LITERATURE

October 03, 2022 Discussion – Prelims # 3

THE LANGUAGE OF PICTURE BOOKS

DEFINITION OF PICTURE BOOK

 Different from an “illustrated text” or novel with pictures

 Book in which illustrations and text are equally balanced, equally important
 Words depend on the pictures to tell part of the story, and vice versa
 Neither element can “stand alone”
 Together, they complete the story—create a “third story” between them
A picture book is a book designed for children which uses pictures and illustrations to tell a story.
In some cases, a picture book may convey the meaning of the story entirely through pictures, without any text at all. In
other cases, text accompanies the pictures and is read along with them. In both instances,
A picture book is designed to introduce young children to the idea of books and reading. As a general rule, each turn of
the page reveals a new picture, or series of pictures.

FUNCTIONS OF PICTURE BOOKS

Picture books have two basic functions. They introduce young children to books, as parents read to them from the time
they are infants.
As a child matures, they learn to read the books themselves. Although they're geared for young children, some picture
books are designed for older kids.
Teachers sometimes use picture books to teach creative writing, prompting students to write sentences about what they
see in the pictures. They also are used by parents and teachers as tools for discussing important topics.

HISTORY OF PICTURE BOOKS

15th Century (1400 – 1500)

 During the 15th century children learned to read using a hornbook. A hornbook is a little wooden paddle with
printed text such as the alphabet, vowel's and the lord's prayer. Later in the 15th century children had moved on
from the hornbook to the ABC book. In 1580 chap books where introduced.
17th Century (1600 – 1700)

 It was said that children's books began to target their audience in the 17th century.
As Time Went On

 During these centuries, children's literature started of as books to teach children their behaviors and as time went
on children's literature was published for them to enjoy.
18th Century (1700 – 1800)
  The earliest books published for children were mostly stories to teach children how to behave. In 1744 'A little
pretty pocket book' was produce by John Newberry and it was solely for children to enjoy.
19th Century (1800 – 1900)

 In the 19th century the book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, was published in 1865.
Australia's earliest known children's book is called, A mother's offering to her children by Charlotte Barton
(1841).
Present

 Children's literature has progressed over time and developed more details and more options for children to access
their books such as online.
20th Century (1900 – 2000)

 In the 20th century, The Golden Books were introduced as well as The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter in
1902.
21st Century (2000 – 2100)

 In the 21st century children's picture books are not only in more detail with their text and pictures but now they
also come available online and not just in hard copy.

Pictures not a “universal language”

 Different cultures “read” or interpret pictures differently

 Children learn to “read” pictures based on the culture in which they live
 Perry Nodelman, Words About Pictures
 Maria Nikolajeva & Carole Scott, How Picturebooks Work
Reading pictures, a learned process

 Pictures won’t mean anything to a child until child is old enough to develop an understanding of its own
environment
 Children seem to teach themselves picture reading skills at very early age
 Contemporary culture FILLED with visual images—children learn visual literacy long before they learn verbal
literacy
Do adults “lose” ability to read pictures?

 We tend to read just the words

 Children (especially pre-literate children) both hear the words and “read” the illustrations at the same time—get a
much fuller sense of the picture book

PICTURE BOOK MILESTONES

1658, Orbis Sensualium Pictus (Johannes Amos Comenius) argued by some to be first picture book
1744, Little Pretty Pocket Book (John Newbery)
Other didactic books like Struwwelpeter (1845)

VICTORIAN ILLUSTRATED TEXTS

Genre really takes off late 19th century—publishing/printing changes make extensive illustration more feasible
Kate Greenaway, Randolph Caldecott, et al.
Illustration becomes associated with books for children
Childhood as joyous & pleasurable; illustrations as joyous & pleasurable
Image: Illustration by Kate Greenaway

FORMAT AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Book’s physical format directs our response to that book before we even open it
Cover, shape, size, “feel” in our hands, kind of paper used, etc.

ELEMENTS IN THE BOOK

1. Space

 Way type is laid out, spaced on page

 Borders—white border or not, shifting borders (e.g. Where the Wild Things Are)
2. Color

 Different hues associated with different moods/feelings

 Green = peacefulness, Blue = serenity or sadness, Red = anger, Yellow = happiness, etc.
 Shades—degrees of brightness or darkness.
o Light usually = happier mood; Dark usually = more intense mood
 Saturation—relative intensity of colors.
o More saturated colors seem more vibrant, less seem more gentle

3. Shape and Line

 Rounded shapes associated with softness

 Straight, angular lines associated with rigidity, tension, energy
 Can strongly affect mood of story
4. Artistic Medium and Style

 Collage, oils, pastel watercolors, black and white line drawing, woodcuts, etc.
 Realistic, abstract, surreal, impressionistic, etc.
 Style - “the effect of all the aspects of a work considered together, the way an illustration or a text seems distinct
or even unique” (Nodelman 283).
 Example: style of Beatrix Potter: gentle, unsaturated watercolors, tiny size, small animals in human situations
 Style affects story—Hyman’s Red Riding Hood vs. Marshall’s Red Riding Hood

5. Visual Objects

 Symbols—use of cross, flag, tree, etc.

 Cultural codes: e.g. dark = evil and light = good; slumped head = sadness and uplifted head = happiness; wolf =
predator and bunny = gentle, happiness
 “Picture books both depend on and teach such conventional assumptions” (Nodelman 288).

6. Light and shadow

OTHER ELEMENTS
Size Of Figures

 Figures in relation to each other

 Size of characters in relation to background
Focus (Close Up Shot Vs. Long Shot)
Way Movement is Suggested
LITERARY ELEMENTS OF PICTURE BOOK
Plot - tension, action, conflict; closed ending vs. open
Characterization - full, round characters vs. flat characters; dynamic vs. static

 Flat characters are two-dimensional, relatively uncomplicated figures.

 Round characters are complex characters with many different characteristics.
 A static character is a character that does not go through any change in personality or perspective throughout the
story. In simple terms, this character remains same throughout the story.
 A dynamic character is a character that undergoes a major change in the course of the story. These characters
might go through a major life transition, have a coming-of-age experience, go through trials and tribulations,
mature, etc. to undergo this change.
Setting
Point of view - through whose eyes is story told? Is narrator a character, or outside the action?
Theme - even simplest picture book can offer more complex theme or significant meaning

 Importance of friendship & family, role of imagination, life coming out of death, etc.
Tone - serious and somber, light and joyful, etc.

 What mood provoked in reader?

TEXT—CONTEXT—SUBTEXT
Text

 The words themselves

 But also the conventions that readers observe—symbolism, characterizations, genre, narrative style, open vs.
closed ending, etc.
Context

 Historical context in which work was created

 How is the text “in community” with the era in which it was written/illustrated?
Subtext

 Ways textual elements and context work together to create meanings that are not always obvious
 What is the book’s possible ideology?
 Example: The Story of Babar