This document provides information about picture books, including definitions of different types of picture books, examples of famous authors and illustrators, and resources for finding picture books. It defines a picture book as a story told through both illustrations and text where the pictures play a significant role. Illustrated books rely more on text with pictures augmenting the story, while wordless books use only illustrations. Resources listed include museums and galleries featuring picture book art, as well as reviews and discussions of specific picture books.
1. ELE 616 Research in Children’s Literature Spring 2011 Picture Books:Teddy Surprise!!
2. What is a Picture Book? http://www.ianbone.com.au/pdfs/PictureBook_IanBone.pdf
3. What is a picture book? What is an illustrated or story book? What is the difference? A picture book is one in which pictures play a significant role in telling a story. According to picture book artist Uri Shulevitz, “a picture book says in words only what pictures cannot show”, as in Maurice Sendak’sWhere the Wild Things Are. An illustrated or story book, on the other hand, is one in which the story is told and understood in words, but is amplified by illustrations, as in Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Frequently Asked Questions
4. Three types of picture books Wordless books rely solely on illustrations to tell a story Picture storybooks illustrations and text work together to tell the story Illustrated books the text supplies most of the information but the illustrations augment what is said or serve as decoration Mendoza, J. and Reese, D. (2001, Fall). Examining Multicultural Picture Books for the Early Childhood Classroom: Possibilities and Pitfalls. Early Child Research and Practice, 3, 2.
5. Reading Pictures We librarians [and teachers] can train ourselves, as adults, to think in pictures again. Such thinking is called visual literacy. Developing visual literacy is much the same as learning a foreign language. Banta, G. (2004, Winter). Reading Pictures: Searching for Excellence in Picture Books. Children and Libraries, 2, 3. Gratia J. Banta is a former Chair of the Caldecott Medal Committee
6. Visual Literacy - What is it? The term Visual Literacy, . . . , refers to the ability to understand and produce visual messages. Click here to download a sample teaching program for Visual Literacy through Picture Books (pdf) for use with students in Stages 2&3. http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/bookzone/vislit.html
8. 2011 Caldecott Medal Winner A Sick Day for Amos McGee The 2011 Randolph Caldecott Medal written by Philip C. Stead; Illustrated by Erin E. Stead THE BEST SICK DAY EVER and the animals in the zoo feature in this striking picture book debut. Friends come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. In Amos McGee’s case, all sorts of species, too! Listen to Erin E. Stead, 2011 Caldecott Medalist, discuss the woodblock prints she created to illustrate Philip C. Stead’s A Sick Day for Amos McGee.
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11. Picture Book Resources Looking Critically at Picture Books With increasing numbers of picture books aimed at older and more sophisticated readers comes the challenge to teachers and librarians to make those encounters more meaningful and enjoyable. . . . Here are a few of the techniques I've used with success.
12. Picture Book Resources European Picture Book Collection The EPBC was designed to help pupils to find out more about their European neighbours through reading the visual narratives of carefully chosen picture books. http://www.ncrcl.ac.uk/epbc/EN/index.asp?
15. The story behind Corduroy The actual “story” behind a character named Corduroy is a book (as yet still unpublished) by Don called Corduroy, the Inferior Decorator. This is a story about a young boy who drove his parents crazy by painting on the walls of their apartment. “Corduroy” was a pet name that my father had for me when I was very young because I used to wear corduroy overalls all the time. Roy Freeman, Don’s son, on webpage, The Story Behind Corduroy, where you can also read how the story developed into a bear looking for a button in a department store Click here (download MP3, 2.9 MB) to listen to an mp3 version of Don reading the beginning of “The Inferior Decorator” to jazz music! Click here to see all the Corduroy books!
16. Native Americans in picture books Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitich Smith The story of Jenna, a contemporary Muscogee(Creek) - Ojibwe(Chippewa) girl who, in bringing together her regalia, honors the women of her family and her intertribal community.
17. 2010 American Indian Youth Literature Award WinnerBest Picture Book is Thomas King’s A Coyote Solstice Tale, illustrated by Gary Clement, published by Groundwood Books, 2009. See a short review on Debbie Reese’s blog American Indians in Children’s Literature
18. Maurice Sendak “A delightful curmudgeon” “. . . Mr. Sendak’s originality and emotional honesty have changed the shape of children’s literature; that his work is featured in museums; that he has designed costumes and sets for operas, ballets and theater; that he has won a chest full of awards and prizes including a National Medal of the Arts.” Concerns Beyond Just Where the Wild Things Are, By PATRICIA COHEN, New York Times, September 9, 2008