DEATH, COVER ART, AND PICTURE BOOKS

Death On The Cover: A Dialogic Search For The Depictions Of Death On The Covers Of 41 Picture Books About Death And Dying

Csaba Osvath

University of South Florida

1 DEATH, COVER ART, AND PICTURE BOOKS

Death On The Cover: A Dialogic Search For The Depictions Of Death On The Covers Of 41 Picture Books About Death And Dying

Introduction

“Non ridere, non lugere, neque detestari, sed intelligere.” (Baruch Spinoza)

Investigating the artistic representations of death on the covers of selected children’s picture books might be viewed as a futile or anemic academic exercise; a sort of misguided and forced project, engendered by a hurried decision and a desperate desire to meet certain curricular requirements. My added resentment toward, or perhaps my periodic abandonment of this project was due to a life circumstance that brought the reality of decay into a tangible, unavoidable closeness. The building that houses the life of my family’s embodied existence started to collapse, due to structural decay. This material death, expanding under the painted covers of our exterior walls of our home, no unlike a sudden emergency call, had pushed me away from a deskbound analysis of picture books to fight the real and really dreadful prognoses of a possible calamity.

However, I soon discovered that facing death or decay through a privileged place of aliveness, armed with viable tools is never futile. Thus, I am encouraged by Spinoza’s advice, as I am staring down the signs of death on our construction site, as well as the artistic depictions of death on the printed pages, stating that this endeavor calls for, “not to laugh, not to lament, not to curse, but to understand.”

2 DEATH, COVER ART, AND PICTURE BOOKS Purpose

As such, the primary purpose of this study is to examine and analyze the cover art of

41 picture books in order to understand how death is portrayed/represented through visual or linguistic expressions. The content analysis of cover art is guided by Bakhtin’s dialogism, and Rosenblatt’s transactional theory and aesthetic reading. Both Bakhtin’s dialogism and Rosenblatts’ transactional theory are viable tools to convey meaning as I interact/engage with the selected book covers.

Questions

1. In what ways do artists (authors/illustrators) use text and pictures to express or convey death?

2. Through a dialogic engagement with the book covers only, what meaning can arise related to death as a phenomena and social construct?

Where Is Death?

This aforementioned question was once proposed to my great grandmother, as we visited the graveside of my great grandfather, who I never had a chance to know. I can still recall the vibrant yellow patch of dandelions on the hillside cemetery, the cacophony of nature’s symphony devoid of industrial sounds, and the dancing light on the water that seemed playful in the tiny creek we crossed on a crackling, moss covered wooden bridge.

But most clearly, I remember the answer from my great grandmother, who quietly, but with great certainty said to me, “Csabikám, death is everywhere.” Her answer shocked me, because everything around us was a joyful proclamaiton and empirical truth about life.

3 DEATH, COVER ART, AND PICTURE BOOKS Only the headstones seemed to reveal something about death, but back then, as a young boy, I did not comprehend the cold symbols and signifiyers carved into the marble to indicate the reality of death or the hopes expressed through religious symbolism.

Later in life, I realized that I was like Carlos Castaneda, who needed a shaman like

Don Juan to understand the truth, spoken by my great grandmother. Kornfield (2000) recalls how Don Juan reorients Castaneda’s relationship toward death and tells him to approach death as a great advisor. He writes,

Death is our eternal companion. It is always to our left, at an arm's length. It has

always been watching you. It always will until the day it taps you. The thing to do

when you're impatient is... to turn to your left and ask advice from your death. An

immense amount of pettiness is dropped if your death makes a gesture to you, or if

you catch a glimpse of it, or if you just catch the feeling that your companion is there

watching you. (Kornfield, 2000, p. 40)

Similarly, Ernest (2007) also calls for a conscious cultivation of our awareness of death as a necessary tool to endure or even to thrive in the presence of terror and continuous decay.

As members of the human race, our existence contains the binaries of pleasure and pain, gain and loss, as well as the reality of life and death. Consequently, we are challenged to explore, to investigate, and to honor both aspects of the limitations of life. It is also important to state that death is not only a universal human condition, but also social construct, when it is investigated or approached as a concept (Ernest, 2007; Clement,

2013). Children’s literature provides a complex set of tools as well as an interactive space to investigate death as a phenomenon and to engage with it as a social construct.

4 DEATH, COVER ART, AND PICTURE BOOKS Death, Children, And Children’s Literature

Although death is often a suppressed or even tabooed conversation topic in the context of early childhood education, it is undeniable that children are not exempt from the experience or encounters with death and dying. Children too may lose family members, friends, pets, or through illness undergo the process of dying. The reality of death “has a tremendous impact on children,” and children’s grief reactions “dependent on the child’s sociocultural context and individual development” (Wiesman, 2012, p. 2). According to

Clement (2013) the perception of death follows certain maturational patterns linked to aging. Studies show that before the age of five, most children perceive death as a kind of sleep, that is temporary or reversible, or an illness from which the patient can recover

(Barrett and Bhene, 2005; Clement, 2013; Corr, Clyde, Nabe & Corr, 1997). Children under the age of five usually struggle to grasp universal phenomena, such as death, and when they encounter death (e.g., a loss of a pet, or a loss of a family member, etc.) their emotional/physical response is closer to sympathy than active empathy, and their immediate response to grief is often somatic, like a stomachache or headache. However, children between the ages of five and eight “develop more conscious forms of empathy” as a result of a psychological differentiation from their identity/ego and the lives of others

(Clement, 2013, p. 4). In later years, Clement (2013) suggests that before the age of ten,

“most children have also made the transition to seeing death as permanent, irreversible, inevitable, and universal, a state from which no one is immune” (p. 4). During this period

“children often channel their fear of death through a personification of death as a shadowy figure, a skeleton, or a clown” (Clement, 2013, p. 4). Through aging, education, and life experiences, children’s understanding of death will deepen and become more accurate,

5 DEATH, COVER ART, AND PICTURE BOOKS however, misconceptions, unrealistic beliefs, and fears will often surface as part of their coping mechanism (Poling & Hupp, 2008; Lazar & Torney-Purta, 1991; Speece & Brent,

1984; Bostico & Thompson, 2005).

According to Wiesman (2012), picture books are important tools to introduce or to teach children about death, because picture books “can provide a way to address and support children as they experience trauma and begin to understand the emotions surrounding their grief” (p. 11-12). It is also necessary here to define and differentiate picture books from other forms of literature, because in picture books “meaning is conveyed in both pictures and words” (Wiesman, 2012, p. 4). Thus in a picture book, text and illustrations are equally important in the presentation and understanding of the story

(Jalongo, 2004).

The topic of death in children’s literature has its own, complex history. According to

Clement (2013) in the earliest stories, specifically written for children, death was often emphasized or presented as something to fear, “the ultimate punishment for rebellious bad behavior or the well-earned reward for servile good behavior” (p. 2). Clement also adds that early illustrations are “littered with the small corpses of young people who have suffered gruesome ends” (p. 2).

Hollindale and Sutherland (1995) notice an important shift in the portrayal of death in children’s literature during the late nineteenth century. Their analysis show that death often served as a kind of mechanism “to dispose of inconvenient parents,” thus, the child could gain independence and a certain kind of freedom to achieve his or hear own adulthood (p. 259). Before the 70s and 80s, especially in Western cultures, the topic of death was never a prominent topic or theme in children’s literature. But during the 70s and

6 DEATH, COVER ART, AND PICTURE BOOKS 80s “publishers began to take chances with children’s books that focused on the traditionally taboo subject of death as a physical reality and philosophical concept”

(Clement, 2013, p. 2). Still if anyone surveys the contemporary market of picture books, the relatively small number of death related literature is a clear indication how we deal with this topic as a culture. Gutiérrez, Miller, Rosengren, and Schein (2014) in their recent article reveal that even when death is addressed to a younger audience in a form of a picture book, “most [stories] involved human or animal characters with whom children could easily identify and most represented death as an emotional experience…evoking sadness and other experiences” (p. 49, 60).

Regardless of the relatively small selection of books on death, picture books are ideal mediums to provide children opportunities to experience stories related to death through text and images, which serves as a safe place to gradually develop a deeper understanding of death related phenomena, like empathic skills and meaningful coping mechanism.

Theoretical Orientation

My analysis of the cover arts of 41 picture books are guided by Bakhtin’s dialogism, and Rosenblatt’s transactional theory and aesthetic reading. Both Bakhtin’s dialogism and

Rosenblatts’ transactional theory are viable tools to convey meaning as I interact/engage with the selected book covers. Although both Bakhtin and Rosenblatt focus on the meaning in text, I believe that their proposed “interactions” with text (novel and poetry) can be applied to cover arts (image and text). Bakhtin (2006) believed that meaning emerges when a reader or language user engages with the written text through a dialogic process. It

7 DEATH, COVER ART, AND PICTURE BOOKS is an active communication where meaning is continuously created and recreated, as in an ongoing conversation between the author and the reader. The author through the text presents an invitation or an opportunity to ask questions and to converse, if the reader is willing to engage in a dialogue. Death as problem (both philosophical and existential) calls for a dialogic engagement, and I believe there is an important link here between the

Socratic dialogues and Bakhtin’s method. According to Maagero and Ostbye (2012) the topic of death in children’s picture books encourage readers to “formulate relevant, rational explanations and definitions, and…to search for a plurality of answers, or for

‘better argument’” (p. 335). The goal of dialogic engagement with text and images is to discover possibilities, and “new questions which might lead to resistance and maybe transformation and new understanding” (Maagero & Ostbye, 2012, p. 336).

Similarly, Rosenblatt (1978) views literature not as an object, but as an event or a possibility for communication, and calls for a meaningful transaction between the reader and the text. Nether Bakthin nor Rosenblatt believed that the role of the reader is a kind of

“invisible eavesdropper, ” thus both dialogism and transactional theory liberates the reader into an active role of significant meaning maker (p. 2). Rosenblatt (1978) also promotes aesthetic reading that happens during the reading event, making the act of reading into a

“pleasurable activity of mind excited by the attractions of the journey itself” (p. 28).

Method

I began my analysis of the cover arts of selected picture books with the creation of an on-line collection through www.are.na. My main objective was to create an easily accessible and well-organized digital archive for collaboration and further research on

8 DEATH, COVER ART, AND PICTURE BOOKS similar topics. Are.na is a collaborative online platform for research and knowledge management. Through the use of blocks and channels users can assemble digital collections, collaborate on topics, and augment, existing information for various applications and projects.

A block can be defined as a single unit of information. It can contain, text, image, video, music files, etc. The block displays a thumbnail image of its content (e.g., picture, image of the first page of a document, still image from video) allowing easy identification.

Blocks can also be augmented by the option of adding titles and other information linked to their embedded content (e.g. notes, links). Other users can also add new information through the comment field.

Channels represent the larger themes or topics in which blocks are the individual information units. Both channels and block can be linked or embedded into other channels, thus showing how a specific content may be used in several contexts.

In the first stage of my research project, I created a main channel, titled “Picture

Books [Death And Dying]” to indicate the main topic or themes. Since I already had a previously established channel with several blocks (information units) on a similar topic, I linked/transported this channel, “Death And Dying” into this newly created channel on the topic of picture books.

Image: Previously created Death and Dying Channel with embedded content. Thumbnail images represent individual blocks.

9 DEATH, COVER ART, AND PICTURE BOOKS After reviewing its content (blocks), I copied all relevant blocks into the “Picture

Books [Death And Dying]” channel that related to the topic of children’s literature or picture books. Since my primary focus was picture books, I re-ordered the content (blocks) to display the most relevant blocks first. To simplify my collection and aid other users, I created three new sub-channels in order to organize my content. Consequently, my main channel, “Picture Books [Death and Dying] contained the following sub-channels: 1.

“Journal Articles,” 2. “Webpages,” 3. “Cover Art.”

Image: Picture Books [Death And Dying] channel with embedded channels with organized content

First, I bookmarked the most prominent webpages, websites, web resources on the topic of picture books and death/dying, and saved each page, as a block. I ordered these blocks by relevance to my project in the “Webpages” channel. As I reviewed the content of these websites, I added notes, links to their block interface, and I also created a list of their most frequently cited books in order to assemble my selection of relevant books on the topic. Consequently, I created 41 image-based blocks containing the cover art of the books and saving them in the “Cover Art” channel. My next step was to generate content into the

“Journal Articles” channel. Utilizing the USF Library’s database and Google Scholar, I searched for the most relevant articles on the topic of picture books related to death and

10 DEATH, COVER ART, AND PICTURE BOOKS dying. I used the following keywords and keyword combinations: death and picture books; dying and picture books; depicting death and picture books; depicting death and children’s literature; mortality and children’s literature; mortality and picture books; death and illustration; death, pictures, children’s literature; corpses and picture books; corpses and children’s literature; etc.

Image: Cover Art Channel with embedded content. Each thumbnail image represents an individual block with the cover art and added information.

After reviewing the findings, I selected the most relevant articles, based on the available abstracts. I downloaded the PDF version of each articles (12) and uploaded them one-by-one into the “Journal Articles” channel, as 12 individual blocks, each containing a separate article. After reading each article, I augmented every block in the “Journal

Articles” channel by adding the titles, APA citation, notes, quotes with corresponding page numbers, and the reference list. This allows not only an easy access to the articles, but all my notes, APA citation, etc. are linked to the article. Similarly, I augmented all the image blocks in my “Cover Art” channel by adding titles, publication data, and my observation notes to each blocks. Thus, utilizing are.na, my collection, “Picture Books [Death And

11 DEATH, COVER ART, AND PICTURE BOOKS Dying]” is an open access virtual database of organized and relevant information units to serve as a foundation for various research projects.

For my analysis of cover arts, I created a worksheet to simplify my coding procedure; to search for themes, patterns, and to link my theoretical orientation with my research questions. It is important to reiterate that my analysis was limited to book covers, however, as Maagery and Ostbye (2012) notes, “the covers of picture books give the readers hints of the theme and the atmosphere of the content, as well as implying an addressee “(p. 325).

Image: Augmented individual blocks (Journal Article and Cover Art)

12 DEATH, COVER ART, AND PICTURE BOOKS Image: Worksheet For Coding (Example)

Cover Art Text Image/Text Dialogic Transaction (Image) (On Cover) Description Engagement Aesthetic Reading My Grandson Lew Text has no indication of Who is Lew? It’s the I love the delicate and By CHARLOTTE death, or dying. No clear name of your grandson. effortless posture. The ZOLOTOW metaphors or hints Why he is clutching your joy and happiness of the Pictures by WILLIAM about death. The image leg? He must love you. figure. I envy you. I will PENE DU BOIS depicts a joyous elderly Why are you so happy? never have a grandson. man, effortlessly lifting How can you be so Or a child. I don’t know up a suitcase and his hat. strong to lift that what it feels to be old Brown tone, no suitcase up high? It must and a happy. I am mostly background, but be empty. Did you win miserable if I think of whiteness, Young boy something? A trip, aging. I find you both hugging the elderly perhaps. This is why very attractive and I 1974 man’s leg, his face is your grandson clings to wonder about Lew’s invisible, but there is a you. He must not want face. You are a lucky hint about sadness… to go without him… man…

I analyzed each image by presenting the image and stating all the written words, including title, author, illustrator, etc. I describe each image in detail by reflecting on elements of design and composition and narrating the scene or the overall depiction of objects, events, etc. If the title or the image has any reference to death or close synonyms, I highlight those words. In my dialogic engagement I approach each cover art as a conversation. I ask questions and I look for answers in the image. Then I also examine this transcript and highlight themes or patterns that relates to my inquiry. My transactional/aesthetic reading manifests as a written reflection on the cover. Throughout this process I try to read slowly in order to notice details and discover meaning, which I feel is relevant to my life or personal situation. Then I also search for themes and patterns in this written description to aid my interpretation.

My collection through are.na is accessible through the following link: http://x.are.na/uwRckWt

13 DEATH, COVER ART, AND PICTURE BOOKS Discussion of Results/Conclusion

I analyzed 41 picture book covers published between 1974 and 2014. All the 41 cover arts were related to a book/story about death or dying. None of the covers included any of the traditional depictions of death (e.g., skeleton, grand reaper, corpse). Only one book cover, “Stones for Grandpa” depicted a cemetery and a visible headstone as a direct visual indication or link to the reality of death. However, several books used a more abstract pictorial representation of death, namely the absence of someone (empty chair, looking into a distance, standing or sitting alone without a parent or child). Also, flowers, balloons, or leafless trees in various compositions were used as objects to convey feelings related to death or loss. Many artworks depicted emotions related to loss through facial expressions and postures, but tenderness, love, and comfort was the main theme throughout the images. Similar analysis of images related to death themed picture books also found that animal characters are also frequently used to introduce the topic of death related narratives (Gutiérrez, Miller, Rosengren, & Schein, 2014). From the 41 covers, 11 covers depicted animal characters.

I believe it was important to analyze images without the text, however, Sipe (1998) warns researcher to pay attention to the ‘‘synergy’’ between words and illustrations, because in picture books they are ‘‘incomplete without the other’’ (p. 98). In my analysis, however, I created a separate analysis for the text on the cover, as artist or illustrators will often create the image, which will be later augmented with a text. My textual analyses lead to the following conclusion. Like the illustrations, the words in most titles communicated emotions or events related to death, however, 5 titles out of the 41 included the words death, die, or dying. This supports Wiseman’s (2012) findings that images and words in

14 DEATH, COVER ART, AND PICTURE BOOKS most picture books related to death mostly depict emotional reactions to death, and they are rarely focus on the biological factors (p. 4). Slaughter and Griffiths (2007) argues that psychological research shows that children would exhibit less anxiety and fear about the topic if picture books also offer narratives about the biological factors related to death.

Attending to the visual and textual features of the selected cover art through a dialogic engagement and aesthetic reading allowed me to make complex connections between the art and my own life. Although the artists behind the cover arts had unique and diverse approaches to encapsulate some aspects of the narratives about death, what made my analysis into a meaning making process was my theoretical perspective that challenged me to move beyond “describing” elements of designs and connect my complex life histories and experiences with the multimodal text of the selected covers.

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