The Art of Picture Books
Book Size
Books can be physically small. Beatrix Potter's books are familiar to many readers because of their small size -- just right, she thought, for small hands to hold. Physically small books today tend to be board books -- books printed on thick cardboard and intended for babies. Because the books are so small (The Tale of Peter Rabbit measures 4" X 5.25"), the illustrator doesn't have much of an area to use. Thus, illustrations tend to be simple in composition.
Dust Jacket and Cover
The cover is just that, the cover of the book. Usually, in American books, the illustration on the dust jacket is a copy of the illustration that has been laminated onto the front of the book. And often that illustration is one that has been lifted from the pages of the story. Sometimes, illustrators make different illustrations for the cover and the dust jacket. Sims Taback's Joseph Had a Little Overcoat is an example of a book where the cover illustration is different from the dust jacket. In the following image the dust jacket is on the left and the cover is on the right. The white spots are actual holes that show through to the overcoat underneath. This is suggestive of the story as pieces of the overcoat fall apart throughout.
The front inside flap of the dust jacket traditionally carries information about the book (called a blurb) that will entice someone to purchase or read the book. The back inside flap usually carries biographical information about the author/illustrator of the book. Lane Smith is an illustrator who often plays with the inside flaps, in sometimes unconventional ways. In the tenth anniversary edition of The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, an additional story was printed on the inside of the jacket itself. For an unconventional artist such as Lane Smith, any surface on the book is a potential space to illustrate, even spaces you may have to search for.
The front inside flap of the dust jacket traditionally carries information about the book (called a blurb) that will entice someone to purchase or read the book. The back inside flap usually carries biographical information about the author/illustrator of the book. Lane Smith is an illustrator who often plays with the inside flaps, in sometimes unconventional ways. In the tenth anniversary edition of The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, an additional story was printed on the inside of the jacket itself. For an unconventional artist such as Lane Smith, any surface on the book is a potential space to illustrate, even spaces you may have to search for.
Binding
The binding is what holds the pages of the book together. Most books have either a stitched binding or a glued binding. Or in the case of some mass-market paperback picture books, the binding may be stapled. Stitched bindings tend to be more durable, but are less likely to lie flat. Illustrators working with double-page spreads will take this into consideration. Because some of the illustration would be lost in the binding (the middle of an open book is called "a gutter"), the illustrator who is planning a double-page spread will try to be aware of where the binding break will occur.
Why use Children's Literature in School?
- In small groups discuss the following:
- Can connect or reconnect young people with the idea of reading for pleasure
- Engages readers in literary worlds and so helps develop the imagination
- Involves narrative that reflects the way young people construct and communicate their realities
- Provides vicarious experience and new perspectives
- Reveals patterns of experience and insights into the human condition
- Cumulatively enhances reading and writing skills
- Builds vocabulary and literary discourse at an appropriate level
- Enhances grammatical understanding
- Helps develop familiarity with story structures and conventions
- Introduces "facts" and cultural knowledge embedded in the story
- Why do we read literature in schools? What do teachers hope to accomplish by having young people read?
What benefits might there be to including children's and YA literature in the curriculum?
Genre Groups
Break into genre groups:
- Historical Fiction
- Fantasy
- Science Fiction
- Contemporary Realistic Fiction
- Poetry
- Nonfiction
1. Look at three textbook definitions of your genre and begin to craft your own group definition
2. Each group member chooses 2 picture books that fit your definition of the genre. Read these books and prepare to discuss how these books fit your group definition and why/how you might choose to use them in the classroom.
Your presentation to the class will fall on the first scheduled day for discussing that genre.