Transcript How To Read a Picture Book - Illinois State University

How To Read a Picture
Book
Dr. Karen Coats
Illinois State University
4/26/2020
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Contents
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Cover Art
Format
Colors
Shapes
Styles
Word/Picture Interaction
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Cover Art
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What is the mood of the cover art?
Analyze the scene.
Remember that cover art is an
advertisement. To whom does it
appeal?
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Format
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How big is the book?
– Small books--cozy, intimate, sweet
– Large books--playful or serious
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Glossy or matte finish?
– Glossy--distances the reader, looks
more like TV or other media
– Matte--invites the reader in
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Format, cont’d.
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What is the book’s shape?
– A book shaped like a character or an
object is less likely to contain serious
information.
– Books shaped as toys or objects are
usually viewed that way, not as things
to read.
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Texture?
– Touch books invite interaction.
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Color
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Probably the most important aspect
of picture book design
Color is culturally specific
Different colors have different
effects on people, but we can make
some generalizations
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Warm Colors
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Orange
– heat
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Yellow
– usually cheerful
– sometimes nauseating
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Reds
– danger
– hunger, aggression
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Cool Colors
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Blues
– soothing, tranquil
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Greens
– growth
– sometimes sickness
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Purple
– royalty
– beauty
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Color Combinations
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Tone on tone
– soothing, rather bland
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Complementary
– high energy
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Pastels
– sweet
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Brights
– fun
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Color Notes
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No one color signifies the same
thing in every book.
Watch for colors that are carried
throughout a book.
Artists often link characters through
the color of their clothes or hair.
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Black and White
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Often signifies seriousness
Does not make a book
uninteresting or unappealing to
children
In older books, may have been a
purely practical choice because of
cost
May be used for nostalgia
May be used to indicate
truthfulness
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Note the nostalgic use of black
and white woodcuts in Mary
Azarian’s A Farmer’s Alphabet.
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Shapes
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Rounded shapes
– feminine
– signify safety, mitigate fear
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Slanted shapes
– signify action, movement
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Angular, elongated shapes
– masculine
– power, danger, meanness
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Style
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Indicates the entire package--color,
format, design, type of art
A key element in award winners is
that their style matches their
content.
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Examples of Style
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Cartoon-like books of Jack Kent
– You know they are going to be nonserious, zany books
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Recent Caldecott winner Rapunzel
by Zelinsky
– uses Renaissance art style to tell an
Italian fairy tale of that period
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Collage art of David Diaz
– stresses urban settings with manmade, “found” objects
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Word/Picture Interaction
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Every picture book tells at least
three stories--the one told by the
pictures, the one told by the words,
and the one told through the
interaction of the two. (Perry
Nodelman)
Interaction may be straightforward,
indirect, or even ironic.
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