What Is a Good Book? the Pictures James Jacobs and Michael Tunnel
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
What Is a Good Book? The Pictures James Jacobs and Michael Tunnel In this age of visual bombardment—daily overloads of images on computer screens, in magazines, on television, at the movies, and along the roadside—do children need even more images in picture books? The answer is a resounding “Yes!” The problem is not having too much to see but learning to be discriminating w hat they see. We use the term visual literacy to describe this sort of discrimination. More than any other generation, today’s children need to develop discretion about what they view. Picture books are a perfect vehicle for opening a child’s eyes to the beauty and power of art because they do not function like other books, in which words alone tell a story or convey information. Illustrations in the better picture books share the function of storytelling or concept teaching. In fact, in wordless picture books the illustrations do the whole job. So the pictures beg for active participation in their viewing, unlike so many of the random images that are flashed daily in front of us. Text and illustration weave together to communicate. To get the full measure of meaning and fulfillment from a good picture book, the reader must attend carefully to both (Kiefer 1995). Through the beautifully crafted picture books available today, young readers not only may become aware of the variety of artistic styles, media, and techniques that artists employ, but also may develop a sense for judging quality. DEVELOPING THE ABILITY TO “SEE” Adults tend to sell children short when it comes to their abilities to perceive the world. Both of us have heard our university students, who are, of course, adults, say such things as, “This artwork is too sophisticated for children. Won’t they OD on this?” One woman actually asked, “Why do they waste such great art on kids?” Truth be known, children are generally more visually aware and alert than most adults (McDermott 1974b). The older we get, the more our visual awareness is likely to be dulled by overload or by the real or imagined expectations our educational systems have imposed on us that alter the way we view images. Honest responses to art and other visual stimuli are programmed out of most children. They begin to ignore their own personal reactions and the fascinating detail in the art in order to second-guess their teachers’ agendas, thus becoming basically less aware. This process is not much different from analyzing poetry with children until the beauty is beaten out of it. As we have read to children over the years, they have shown us detail in picture book illustrations that our supposedly sophisticated adult eyes overlooked. For example, we had read On Market Sweet (Lobe1 1981) many times, but had not noticed that the figure representing T for toys in this alphabet book had on her hands puppets of the immensely popular Frog and Toad characters. That is, we did not notice them until a child pointed them out. Frog and Toad were made famous in Newbery and Caldecott Honor books created by Arnold Lobel-husband of Anita Lobel, who illustrated On Market Street. Children have shown us that the church tower clock in each illustration in Anno’s Counting Book (Anno 1977) always points to the hour that corresponds with the number being presented. Gerald McDermott has observed that younger children, when reading Arrow to the Sun (McDermott 1974a), notice the sun symbol on the chest of the Sun God’s child, an obvious visual link between father and son. However, McDermott (1974b) points out that older children tend not recognize the Pueblo boy’s emblem. Illustration in picture books is meant to delight, to capture attention, to tell a story or teach a concept, and to develop appreciation and awareness in children. Of course, appreciation is developed in part by consistent exposure to the wonderful varieties of art that are coupled with pleasing stories in today’s picture books. Young children begin to sense something special in good art when they see lots of it. For example, Quincy had seen many fine picture books in his short six years. When he was listening to a new book, 17 Kings and 42 Elephants (Mahy 1987), which has jewel-like batik on silk paintings by Patricia McCarthy, he suddenly interrupted to say, “Dad, these pictures are marvelous!” “Marvelous” was a bit unexpected coming from such a little body, but more amazing was his evaluative response to the artwork. Quincy didn’t have the understanding or the words to analyze 1 McCarthy’s work, but he simply knew it was good stuff. How did he know? Because he’d seen so many picture books that he’d developed a level of appreciation that governed his taste in illustrations. Taste and appreciation come by experience, by comparing a variety of examples. Taste is broadened and cultivated by exposure; it is narrowed or allowed to lay fallow by restricting experience. Indeed, if all that children see in the world of art are Saturday morning cartoons, then such will be the standard of art for them. FUNCTIONS OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN PICTURE BOOKS “The function of art is to clarify, intensify, or otherwise enlarge our experience of life” (Canady 1980). This statement is as true for picture book illustrations as it is for gallery paintings, but picture book artwork also must operate in a manner unique to its special format. Because picture books are made up of a series of illustrations that typically tell a story, the art may function in one or more of the following ways: ESTABLISHING SETTING. Art is a natural for creating the setting in an illustrated book. Time periods in historical stories or far-flung cultural settings can be brought to life through illustrations in ways words cannot do. Look at The Fortune-Tellers (Alexander 1992) as an example. This is a universal story that could have been set in any number of places and times, but Trina Schart Hyman’s illustrations allow the story to spring suddenly into a certain place and time-the west African country of Cameroon in what Hyman calls “the fantastical present” (Hyman 1995). The handsome people in rainbow-colored costume and the crisp, highly detailed surroundings create a idyllic, slightly larger- than-life backdrop for Alexander’s literary folktale. (See Illustration 1.) DEFINE AND DEVELOP CHARACTERS. Artists can give characters an extra fleshing out through illustrations. Through the artwork in Ira Sleeps Over (Waber 1972), for example, we learn much about Ira’s parents that is not revealed in the text. We see his parents’ interesting and somewhat untraditional lifestyle, especially for the time when the book was published. For instance, in one illustration Ira’s father is cooking dinner, in another he is playing the bass. Frog Goes to Dinner (Mayer 1974), a wordless picture book, relies completely on illustrations to define and develop the characters. Mayer is a marvel when it comes to using facial expressions to communicate what his characters are feeling. Note the double-page illustration of the angry family driving home after they have been thrown out of Fancy Restaurant. Each family member harbors an individual response to the disaster. (See Illustration 2.) REINFORCE TEXT. The primary function of some picture book illustrations is to reinforce the text. Nonfiction picture books often fill into this category, with the illustrations and diagrams restating visually what the words say. For instance, Steven Kellogg’s illustrations for How Much Is a Million? (Schwartz 1985) reinforce the concept of large numbers. For text that reads, “If a billion kids made a human tower . they would stand up past the moon,” the accompanying illustration shows the top of a stack of happy children with the lunar landscape in the background. The topmost children are holding a banner that reads “1,000,000,000 KIDS.” Illustrations in a picture storybook also may function primarily to reinforce the story. In the ever popular Blueberries for Sal (McCloskey 1948), for example, readers see what the text describes—the countryside in Maine as well as the characters who are out picking blueberries—but no major extensions to the text are evident. PROVIDE A DIFFERENT VIEWPOINT. One of the most enjoyable ways in which illustrations may function in a picture book is that of telling a story different from the text or even being in opposition to the words. In Rosie’s Walk (Hutchins 1968), the text says that Rosie the hen takes a peaceful stroll around the firm and gets “back in time for dinner.” However, the illustrations tell another tale: A fox, never mentioned in the narrative, lurks behind Rosie every step of the way, but is somehow frustrated every time it pounces forward to make Rosie its dinner. (See Illustration 3.) Peter Spier’s Oh, Were They Ever Happy (1978) is an example of words and text that are humorously in opposition to one another. Children inadvertently left alone for the day (the baby-sitter has her days confused and 2 doesn’t show) decide to do something nice for their parents—paint the house. The words say “Neat job and “Pretty color!” while the illustrations show what a horrible mess the kids are making. They paint the bricks and windowpanes; they finish one color of paint and take up another. Similarly, in Burningham’s Come Away from the Water, Shirley (1977), the only words come from Shirley’s parents, who nag her constantly to keep clean and stay safe during their day at the beach. In contrast, the illustrations show Shirley tuning out her parents’ admonitions while her imagination takes her on a seaside adventure battling pirates.