Overview

Introduction

What is your reaction to the idea of studying picture books in class? Many of you will see picture books as childish or for slower readers and some of you will like picture books but be unsure of how picture books can be a valid text for study in the classroom. The reality is that picture books are predominantly visual texts that require you to use a range of skills including reading and viewing in order to understand them completely. You need to demonstrate and apply your understanding of how the composition of a picture book expresses certain effects and meaning. Remember that any picture book that you study in class will have been meticulously written, illustrated and designed.

Purpose and audience of picture books

This is a very general overview of purpose and audience. Each individual picture book will have a unique purpose and audience.

Consider most texts that you study in class. Novels and poetry are all text. Understanding comes from reading the words. Films are all images and sound. Understanding films comes from viewing the images and listening to the sounds. A picture book usually, but not always, contains predominantly (mostly) images that you need to view and text that you need to read.

Many people view the images in a picture book as merely illustrating the words. This is most often untrue. Illustrated novels, such as Roald Dahl's The Witches, do contain images, but the images complement (go with) the text. Picture books are different from this. The picture books that you will study in class will most often contain images that work together with the text or at least significantly alter the meaning or effect of the text. When you are given a picture book to study, it is a good idea to consider the text on its own first. Would the text be as effective on its own? The answer is usually no. For this reason it is then necessary to explore how the images and the text work together to create a greater effect or meaning.

The general purpose of a picture book is to express ideas, characters, stories and themes through a merging of text and image. The images are used to create worlds, characters and meanings beyond the text alone.

Traditionally, it was common to view picture books as serving as reading tools for younger children. The idea is that picture books provide a way for parents and teachers to read to children who are not yet able to read, so that they can at least interact with the images. Then, later in development, as a way to introduce children to reading because they contain simple stories with fun images with which to interact. Many picture books are written with these particular audiences in mind.

In recent times, however, artists and writers have combined to create picture books with multiple layers of meaning and complex themes, suitable for older school students and adults alike. The way in which the images and text work together with the overall design of a picture book has become quite artistic. The themes that are expressed can be complex and mature. Consider as an example Shaun Tan's The Red Tree which arguably examines childhood depression and the allegorical The Rabbits by John Marsden, also illustrated by Shaun Tan.

It is interesting to note that often it is still only possible to find picture books in the junior section of libraries, despite the complexity of themes expressed and the high levels of artistry involved in the creation of the texts. This should not deter you from seeking out meaningful and artistic picture books.

The main components of a picture book

There are three main creative aspects that are required for the creation of a picture book. These are written text, illustration and design. Often, each aspect is composed by separate individuals. This makes it very important that all three individuals work closely together to ensure that the picture book flows seamlessly, that the meaning and theme is consistent through text, image and design and to ensure that the three aspects add to the effect and to the expression of meaning throughout the text. This will be discussed later in the topic.

It should be noted that you will also come across picture books that contain no written text at all. For these picture books you will need to understand how the composer has used design and visual cues to tell the story.