Picture Books – A Summary from Children’s Books in Children’s Hands

1. Picture Books – A Summary from Children’s Books in Children’s Hands January 23, 2008 Multicultural Children’s Literature

2. Types of Picture Books • Toy Books-books that allow interaction for young children • Concept Books-books that actual teach children about a concept or topic • Alphabet Books • Counting/Number Books • Wordless Books – books without words • Beginning Reader Books – predictable books and easy readers

3. Elements of Design in Picture Books

4. LINE • Lines can be thin, light, heavy and bold. The can be straight, jagged, wavy or zigzagged. • Line can be used to effectively show movement in an illustration. • Example in Moses – pages 3-4

5. SHAPE • “Shape is created when spaces are contained by a combination of lines.” • Shape can help create a sense of the setting of the story – whether it is meant to be rural vs. urban, scary vs. calming, etc. • Example: The Man who Walked between the Towers

6. COLOR • Color can be varied or it can be consistent – the author may choose a wide variety of colors or he or she may choose to stick with one of two colors. • Color and shading of those colors helps to create the mood of a story. • Examples: Uno’s Garden and The Spider and the Fly

7. LIGHT • Light in a story directly connects with the colors in a story. An author’s use of light contributes to the mood of the story, the state of mind of characters, or to better describe the setting. • Example: Moses

8. TEXTURE • “Texture is the illusion of a tactile surface created in an illustration.” • Example: What do you do with a Tail like This?

9. ARTISTIC MEDIA

10. Painting • Most children’s books are illustrated with watercolors. • The watercolors allow authors to show many emotions in the characters and settings. • Example: Jerry Pinkney – from pencils to colored pencils to watercolors

11. Pencil Drawings • Authors use balck-and-white pencil drawings to convey certain moods. • You can create sharp lines, “smudged shadows” and delicate features with a pencil. • Example: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

12. Paper Crafts – Collage, Papermaking and Cut Paper • Cutting and pasting different sizes and shapes of paper can create interesting illustrations. (collage) • Examples: What do you do with a Tail like This?, Eric Carle’s books