By Ava, Emily and Harrison

PICTURE BOOKS

While looking at many different books over the past week we have discovered that Picture Books are different to

novels and other varieties of books. Picture books tell the story differently; along with the words there are pictures to

give visual ideas and make the story more exciting.

INTRO

What have you learnt about picture books?

The covers of picture books are all very different and are an essential part of the book. The cover is also the first thing a potential reader or buyer will see so to sell the book the cover would need to be appealing to the buyer. Also, the covers of books always have a title and an author.

What do they try to do?

Covers try to sell the book to the reader. If the company

puts on a bright or noticeable cover more people will look at the book.

Most authors have a certain style of writing and a similar

subject range so if you are familiar with an author you

will be able to recognise their books.

COVERS

For example the cover of ‘The very Cranky Bear’ distinctly shows a cranky bear with the authors name. The cartoon picture also hints that the book may be humorous.

What do they tell a potential reader?

The covers of books are the first thing a reader sees so it needs to tell them a little about the story and reader age

range. The covers of books will usually feature the protagonist or a main point of the story and the illustrations

can give the reader an idea of the age appropriation and what kind of theme the story takes.

COVERS

This book suggests that this story is metaphorical because the person on the cover is sitting on a paper boat. Also, the author, Shaun Tan, has many different interpretive picture books.

What ways are used to create illustrations in picture books?

Illustrations in picture books can vary greatly from book to book. Books can use a whole range of different art types

from sketches to paintings to collages. Cartoons are a very common art style used in picture books, especially for

younger readers but other styles are: watercolour, hand-drawn, photographs, stencilled, animated.

ILLUSTRATIONS

The pictures in ‘Fox and fine feathers’ were made by using sponges to paint the background and then while the paint was wet a paint brush was used to draw images into the paint by carving away the paint. After that, it is possible that the illustrator used pencils to fill in the gaps in the paint.

What role do illustrations play in telling the story?

The images in stories are used for a range of different reasons varying between books. They can be used to add

different emotions to the story, relate to similar circumstances in real life, to involve the reader, add detail

or to fill in things that the writer hasn’t mentioned etc.

How do they help the reader learn what the story is about?

They help the reader recognise the characters and the scenery, and to help the reader understand what is going on

the story. The front cover mainly shows what the story is about but the other images also help because they are

always related to what is going on in the story.

ILLUSTRATIONS

How does the view presented to the reader by an illustration, include and affect the reader?

Different illustrations can affect the reader and change the way they read and understand the book by using different art types or viewing the scene from different angles. For example images viewing the scene straight-on make the

reader feel included in the story and birds-eye view gives the story a more distant quality.

ILLUSTRATIONS

The images in ‘Cinderlily’ were made by taking photos of different flowers and making them resemble people.

What role do you think picture books have in the world of reading?

Picture books help little kids learn to read. They help them understand more by looking at the pictures and seeing what the words mean. Children definitely enjoy reading

books with pictures because the pictures give them a better insight into the world of the characters and what they are

thinking.

How important are visual images in helping readers to understand their world?

Visual images are very important because they show what the characters world looks like which might not sound like

much but it helps the reader to understand what the characters are going through.

COMMENTARY

For example in the floods the pictures show more of what is happening to the dog and the town and how the river is

swallowing the town. The pictures show that the book will be sad by making the pictures look like their crying with

their use of watercolour.

COMMENTARY

While looking at picture books we have learnt many people think that picture books are for younger readers, but if you

read them they have lots of depth and meaning in them. This study of picture books has been a great time for all of us having learnt many things and how picture books are constructed. We think that people all ages should read

picture books more often.

CONCLUSION

THE END

Thank you for watching!