DRAWING ON COLLABORATIVE VENTURES TO VISUAL …Impact Factor 2.417, ISSN: 2320-5083, Volume 4, Issue...

JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC RESEARCH FOR MULTIDISCIPLINARY Impact Factor 2.417, ISSN: 2320-5083, Volume 4, Issue 8, September 2016

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DRAWING ON COLLABORATIVE VENTURES TO VISUAL THINKING: THE IMPORTANCE OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN CHILDREN’S BOOKS

STEPHEN T.F. POON*

*Taylor’s University, Malaysia

Abstract

As the focus on developing and enhancing children’s learning increases, a notable

growth trend has been seen in the field of commercially-published children illustrated books

(CIB). This paper presents key insights on the improvement of child literacy with the aid of

illustrated books designed for the children market. An overview of classical children literary

publications is provided, with perspectives drawn on established research and theories on

visual thinking as a form of spatial intelligence, and its role in literacy development such as

reading skills and knowledge construction. The aims and functions of visual-based thinking

in children literature are discussed and explored, and its use as a means to augment school-

based pedagogy will be considered. As this form of interactive learning medium gains

acceptance, issues affecting the publication of CIB including quality, stimulating graphics

and its value in education, will be further explored. With quality CIB gradually being sought

after by a discerning market, this paper argues for greater recognition and appreciation of the

credible efforts by stakeholders such as publishers, agents, illustrators and writers. The

potential of collaborative CIB projects is also examined, and case studies will be provided to

demonstrate why CIB collaborations are an effective way to raise industry talent, improve

creativity of publications and produce new intertextual and cultural texts, resulting in high-

calibre, sophisticated visual communication ideas and themes emerging in the market. The

paper presents case examples of publications while discussing the collaborative processes by

illustrators and writers in jointly conveying themes through visual communication. This paper

concludes with strategies to reach an increasingly discerning market, and how intertextual

new media applications can be utilised to steer development of this field.

Keywords: Illustrators, Visual Thinking, Literacy, Children Illustrated Books, Publishing

Introduction

People have always told stories to each other. From country villages to school

classrooms, bookstores and holiday programmes, storytelling for children is an essential skill

and a form of educational tool in modern cultural contexts of today.


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Storytelling skills involves special attention on the development of children literature

and educational materials such as storybooks, which have evolved to signify and suit the

changing needs of today’s society. Children books serve aesthetic and functional purposes:

they reaffirm communal observations and experiences, convey particular cultural, spiritual

and social values, trains visual response and language proficiency.

An increasingly professional realm has engendered the need to foster quality

authorship and creative thinking in collaborative children books. The publication of children

illustrated books (CIB) engages a range of occupational sectors including writers, linguists,

social scientists, psychologists, speech specialists, graphic artists, designers, illustrators,

publishers, marketers, distributors, and etc. Training in language arts, humanities and early

childhood education is essential for illustrators. Illustrators for books and other educational

material have emerged from being backend support to recognition among parents, educators

and audiences alike.

The main aim of this paper is to provide authoritative field literature for historical and

contemporary arguments in the development of children literary publications. Three research

questions guiding the paper are:

How does visual thinking improve children literacy?

Has commercialisation of children literature affected the quality and selection of

published children illustrated stories?

Could children illustrated publications augment formal or school-based pedagogy?

The paper discusses the process of producing children illustrated books, with the use

of a range of published examples to analyse the illustration methods of contemporary

illustrators. The paper concludes with an argument for greater recognition of CIB as vital

teaching resources, besides a more effective understanding of current market criteria in order

to reap the potential of CIB as a child literacy and linguistic enhancement tool.

Overview: The Evolution of Children Picture Books

In the Western tradition, children picture books can be traced to the 17th-century

woodcut illustrations of Johannes Comenius, which accompanied early children’s

encyclopaedia for The Visible World in Pictures (McGlynn, 2011). In 1802, Jacob and

Wilhelm Grimm gained renown for their exhaustive collaboration on an early German

lexicography, at the same time documented, collected and published European folktales such

as Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel and Snow White (O’Neill, 1999: 118).


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These and other literary legacies of central European culture were lifelong passions

for the Grimm Brothers, who professed preference for “a walk in literature” to outdoor strolls

(O’Neill, 1999) even while pursuing law at the University of Marburg, and later as they

entered into political and civic service). The archiving of authentic, pastoral stories reflecting

and representing the German volk (folk) traditions is tackled on a serious level, but the

illustrations that accompanied them were not always recognised as valuable accompaniment.

German literature professor Jack Zipes (2008) notes that as the interest to illustrate classic

children tales grew in the wave of the Romanticism movement in the 1800’s, so flourished

the practice of including unauthorised editions of Grimm fairy tales in illustrated anthologies.

Nevertheless, the successful early publication of pleasure reading titles such as Lewis

Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, was emulated by later European children

authors, including Hans Christian Anderson (The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid), Hergé

(Tin Tin), Charles Perrault (Pinocchio), and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (The Little Prince);

while classic titles such as Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit found their way into

domestic American magazines such as Good Housekeeping, enabling shared reading between

children and their mothers (McGlynn, 2011).

19th-century illustrators like Randolph Caldecott, Walter Crane and Kate Greenaway

produced prolific and superior works, and the functionality of picture books in education

gained this genre eminence among parents, child experts, book publishers and critics alike.

An example of this confluence is the Randolph Caldecott Medal, which represents a

distinguished range of illustrated children picture books honoured with an annual award to

recognise their ability to bring visual experiences to children through cohesive storylines,

themes or concepts (Association for Library Service to Children, 2008). Since 1937, the

Caldecott Medal has become a helpful standard for child educators looking for “excellent

springboards” (McGlynn, 2011: 4) to impart the proficiency and skills for emergent reading

comprehension, vocabulary knowledge and meaning construction, besides helping reinforce

lessons in learning areas such as science and art.

Aims & Functions of CIB

The many definitions of CIB are available, but in keeping with the objectives of this

paper, we will examine the functional and educational levels of meanings. Barbara Bader,

children’s literature critic and author of the classic American Picture books from Noah’s Ark

to The Beast Within (1976) defines picture books as:


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“…text, illustrations, total design; an item of manufacture and a commercial product; a

social, cultural, historic document; and foremost, an experience for a child. As an art form it

hinges on the interdependence of pictures and words, on the simultaneous display of two

facing pages, and on the drama of the turning of the page.”(Bader: 1)

The late Prof Kay E. Vandergrift of the School of Communication and Information at

Rutgers University, defined children book illustration (emphasis added) as:

“[…] both an art form in its own right and an integral part of the literary composition of the

book as a work of art. To fully appreciate all the styles, media, and techniques in children's

literature, one must be knowledgeable about art in general as well as about the composition

and design of children's books.” (Vandergrift, 1997)

Bader assumes commercial viability rests in the production of books children desire to

consume, while Vandergrift makes clear that visual arts appreciation stems from the social

constructionist perspective of the reader’s own ability to associate differing styles of design

and illustrations with viewpoints and values.

Children in early developmental stages of between two and six years learn to observe

movements, speech, gestures, emotions, positions, moods. The connections formed between

imagery, mental pictures and words arouses understanding, enabling them to distil meaning

through learning a set of cultural value judgments and behavioural responses, despite lacking

sufficient vocabulary to say exactly how they feel. For children with learning disabilities, the

pictorial component promises active sensorial stimulation and facilitates emergent literacy

(Justice and Kaderavek, 2002), particularly in struggling early readers. The use of

intervention strategies to develop emergent literacy has been promoted by researchers in

other ways, for instance, in encouraging parents and teachers to provide connected learning

opportunities such as reading using customary habits of manners and speech, engaging

toddlers and children with age-appropriate materials for early cognitive and socio-emotional

development, such as shared storybook reading (Justice and Kaderavek, 2002; Justice and

Pullen, 2003).

Visuals are acknowledged for their universal power to create narrative familiarisation,

putting young readers in a better position to appreciate cultural references via cultural

comparisons (National Centre for Research in Children’s Literature, 2003; New South Wales

Department of Education and Training, 2008: 21). Literature points to this opportunity: that

while the use of CIB is commonly taken as an informal means to engage children in language

and visual-spatial intelligence development, its usefulness in augmenting formal or school-

based pedagogy has not been a critical area for discussion thus far.


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REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

The distinctions between visual literacy and other forms of intelligence such as

musical, linguistic, numerical, social, logical, kinaesthetic or active learning shape the

pedagogical concepts in educational research and particularly, in the use of psychology to

understand the nature of human intelligence. Howard Gardner’s acclaimed Theory of

Multiple Intelligences proposed a theoretical approach to separate the seven components of

“intelligence” for different educational applications; these brain-based capabilities are

associated with one’s cultural, historical and societal perspectives (cited in Bjorklund, 2005:

454).

Albert Bandura (1989: 9) propose six classical framing theories of child development,

believing children’s symbolising capacity enables them “to think of cows jumping over the

moon and elephants riding on flies”, improbably these events are in reality. Experts since

Bandura’s time have kept up scholarly debates on the link between children’s imagination

and critical thinking, and how visual thinking would be affected from the reader’s exposure

to perceptual differences in certain cultural settings, calling these observed representations

“the first tier principles of reference” (Golinkoff and Hirsh-Pasek, 2006: 215-6). In the last

century, researchers have sought to differentiate “reading engagement” or immersion based

on understanding students’ intrinsic motivation for reading tasks that employ deep processing

(self-interest, learning for its own sake), from extrinsic efforts that require surface-level

complex thinking abilities, with motivation coming from the desire for social approval or

avoiding negative evaluation (Entwhistle and Ramsden, 1983; Guthrie et al, 1996).

Making Meaning from Visual Thinking

Children see visuals even before learning language. Mabel Segun (1988: 25), a vocal

advocate of Nigerian children authors, believes illustrations is purposeful as “literature in its

own right”, chiefly to pique children’s imagination, create sensorial awareness and ideate

potential, besides correcting injurious cultural notions brought about by advertising. Visual

images, narratives and character depictions coalesce in the child’s mind and senses through

constant exposure, multiple resources and reading activities (Stephens, 2003: 4). From

wordless picture books enjoyed by preschool-aged emergent readers in “point and say”

learning (Jalongo, Dragich, Conrad and Zhang, 2002: 168), to travel brochures,

advertisements and signboards, visual embellishment enables children with language

proficiency weaknesses to make sense and understand writers’ point of views but only after,


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as some social pragmatists theorise – recognising the salience of their own stance (Golinkoff

and Hirsh-Pasek, 2006). As pictorial “linguists”, illustrators can contribute towards

developmental objectives of society by applying their ability to transliterate, i.e. decode and

encode visual messages and symbols (Segun, 1988:1). Segun, who criticises the perpetuation

of stereotypes and Nigerian illustrators who wallow in unimaginative characterisations in

some CIB, believe these should make way for more accurate portrayals of cultural heritage

symbols and identities.

The biographical tale When Marian Sang by Pam Muñoz Ryan (2002) is an example

(Figure 1). Targeted at junior readers, illustrator Brian Selznick uses sepia tones to

complement the sombre, emotive language of the narrative and draw a profound portrait of

the protagonist’s experience in facing racism in pre-Civil Rights America and to depict stoic

courage in the central role model (Salvadore, 2012; Scholastic, n.d.; YouTube, 2011). In

contrast, Reynold Ruffins (2013), an African American professor, painter and illustrator, uses

strong primary colours and stylistic variance in augmenting texts and provide depth of

commentary about facts and information. Ruffins admits that his dimensional abstract art

whimsies – animals, parades, streetscapes, are often viewed as nothing more but

representational (Figure 2). What readers may not appreciate are the confines of the narrative

and audience that challenges artists not detach interpretive skills from the story (Hinkle,

2013).

Figure 1: Selznick’s cover illustration forWhen Marian Sang


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Figure 2: Cover of Sarnoff (1979) Light The Candles! Beat The Drums! How Visual Thinking Engages Children: Postmodern Approaches

The colours, shapes, forms, words and themes in CIB are fundamental contexts which

help children enlarge visual-based thinking. Pictures determine the story, scene and mood,

define and develop characters, communicate perspectives, and reinforce cultural messages or

textual symbols (Fang, 1996). Fang uses Maurice Sendak’s illustrative style in Where The

Wild Things Are as an instance where plot progression is suggested by the protagonist Max’s

room (his ‘wild kingdom’) steadily being filled with trees and grass from bedposts to shag

rug, heightening the sense of Max’s infuriation for being sent off to his room as punishment

(Fang, 1996: 135), thus redirecting the reader’s focus on the narrative value (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Maurice Sendak, Where The Wild Things Are (1963)


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Newer studies present the possibilities of interactive explorations in experimental

social contexts as a motivating factor for emergent child literacy. Nolen (2001) for instance,

applies the social constructionist framework to conduct an ethnographic experiment,

particularising the accomplishments of under-skilled kindergarten children at risk of learning

disabilities given opportunities to read stories, create artwork and write in partnership with

their peers. Children’s sensitivity to visual stimuli has always given opportunities to explore

models of teaching and literacy that blends pictures and imagery. For instance, educationists

note the benefits of art in teaching metalinguistic skills in terms of phonological and written

competencies (Chaney, 1994, cited in Justice and Pullen, 2003: 100). The role of props in

developing early literacy and in play settings have also been measured and considered as an

effective intervention strategy (Justice and Pullen, 2003); the use visual response to enrich

lesson processes and content (Whitin, 1994); the use of age- and culturally-appropriate toys

that involve active play from children and their families (Hirsh-Pasek and Golinkoff, 2003),

and for no better reason that simply to delight, inspire and give children sound foundations to

enhance their emotional development, as well as fostering successful participation in lifelong

literacy (Whitehurst et al, 1999).

Zipes (2008), citing the Freudian concept of the ‘œuncanny’ and Bloch’s

conceptualisation of home, views fairy tales - frightening, magical, concealed codes in

relationships and capricious endings, as a way for individuals to handle feelings of anxiety,

fear and familiarity. In and through unfamiliar settings, folktales “[ignite] a double quest for

home”, as readers seek uniformity of belief in meanings and in the fantasy. Their

experiences, comforting or otherwise, may either assimilate or alienate that which has been

established in their norms and cultural traditions (Zipes, 2008). Comparative literature sees

parallels in avid storytellers’ circles, arguing that postmodern educational approaches could

incorporate existing stories in folklore and local culture that are in fact, comparatively similar

in cross-cultural settings.

As the inclusion of books on one’s cultural heritage is relevant for didactical and

educational functioning (Lynch-Brown and Tomlinson, 2008), folk stories and storytelling

which children of native communities can embrace and relate to, should be integrated in

teaching aids. Nevertheless, a state of literacy failure has been noted in the frenetic pursuit of

improved educational pedagogical systems in the past decades, as teachers in the United

States and Europe reported declining proficiency among their students in language skills, oral

communication, reading and writing. Adding to this, proper standards of educational


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practices are being compromised with incessant media exposure putting stress on visual

spatial stimulation through video games, puzzles, television, multimedia and other activities.

As these “habits of mind” come to be preferred and form part of social and behavioural

learning, there had not been concurrent development in the area of linguistic skills

acquisition. Countering such disconcerting studies, Ezell and Justice (2000) in Justice and

Kaderavek (2002) report that large-sized and noticeable text encourages children at emergent

literacy ages of four years to interact with print during reading, while “engaging” and

“appealing” pictures are clear motivators in reading activity, and directly fosters literacy

development, including the ability to verbalise what they read as print (p.11). Justice and

Kaderavek (2009) surmised that print-based referencing accelerates children performance in

alphabet knowledge, word awareness as they develop stronger attention and interest in print

from storybook reading interactions. A recent example (Figure 4) is the collaboration

between Bob Shea and Lane Smith, Big Plans (2008).

Figure 4: Bob Shea’s Big Plans (2008), with cover illustration by Lane Smith

Illustrations are arguably important for children because visual storytelling is an

entertaining method of developing visual thinking. Fonts, colours, lines, emotions, gestures

and other symbolic cues, being intertextual in nature, are constructed to enlarge social

interactivity such as classroom learning initiatives. Thus, visual thinking lends meaningful

depth that may be missed if merely printed letters were used (Whitin, 1994).

Molly Bang, a strong advocate of visual literacy, notes that methods employed to

illustrate and visualise effectively improves the narrative’s aim to connect with children.


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According to Bang (2000), illustrations that apply correct visual principles such as shapes,

object placement, light and size contrasts, centring and corners, are especially important to

convey genuine feelings, enhancing the relationship between aesthetics and textual narratives,

particularly material for the emergent literacy stages of between two and eight years (Figure 5).

Avery (1996, cited by Jalongo et al, 2002: 168) states that contemporary exposure via

media such as computer screens, billboards and television has enabled children to view

visuals in books and respond independently of what adults would perceive. Beyond

understanding language, social or cultural experiences, visual thinking is initiated by signals

indicating the child’s motivation to observe and express ideas. Hence, CIB help children to

“recognise, interpret and express themselves through pictures long before they master print”

(Jalongo et al, 2002: 168). Literacy researcher Bette Goldstone (2001), furthering this

research continuum, traces the way children publications poke fun at society, question life’s

uncertainty and reinvent classics like Cinderella and The Three Little Pigs (Goldstone: 365).

Figure 5: Molly Bang (2008) uses repeated, pulsing lines to convey strong emotions

Postmodern teaching research in the past demonstrates that CIB help readers do a

reality check over trends, pressures, economic, social and political forces that once worked


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“constant and unchanged” (Goldstone: 369) in traditional societies, and in so doing, they

reinterpret their world and interconnections with others, and reconsider their own beliefs

about the world (Anstey, 2002: 456). In this functional sense, illustrative functions in

children stories today has to move beyond the “old literacy” practices of traditional, “black

and white” conceptualised picture books, and may indeed, help children of this era master the

literacy, communicative and social skills of the digital environment (Anstey: 445).

In a span of a few decades since the 1980’s, the range and quality of CIB has widened

greatly, a trend that aligns with parents’ and educators’ increased awareness of picture books

as symbolic tools of learning about their social environment. CIB has become more easily

available and accessible for every age group (McGlynn, 2011). Along with accessibility

comes an increasing ability to discern quality works from their lesser cousins. National and

community-level effort to bring literacy up to par with the needs of today’s rapid socio-

economic growth is crucial. The external factors which hamper children’s exposure to, and

interest in CIB, include costs, distribution logistics, ineffective curricula as well as static

educational pedagogy.

Parental engagement, innovation in educational pedagogies and better distribution are

factors to cultivate higher literacy immersion, even allowing promising new forms of visual

literacy to be introduced. Such goals are achievable if publishing companies sent out

researchers to identify and discover the kinds and range of books that children should have

access to; and to understand what teachers and librarians think would help in teaching and

communicating to children. Methodical analyses of these findings guide CIB sector on

publishing works that best serve these needs.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research for this study is conducted in two phases. In an attempt to address the three

earlier research questions, the focus of study presented in this paper will consist of textual

analysis of selected CIB publications to evaluate the illustration and art production methods

of contemporary illustrators and artists, and to what degree their approaches add contextual

depth that enables young readers to harness the potential of CIB as a literacy and linguistic

enhancement tool. The sample selection of publications was aimed at broadening the scope

of study, to enable better reflection on the role of visual in narrative augmentation in both

traditional and postmodern children publications.


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The second phase is to gather clear understanding of the increasingly professional

realm of book illustration careers, which has created the need to foster quality authorship and

creative thinking in collaborative children books. The publication of children illustrated

books (CIB) engages a range of occupational sectors including writers, linguists, social

scientists, psychologists, speech specialists, graphic artists, designers, illustrators, publishers,

marketers, distributors, and etc. Since training in language arts, humanities and early

childhood education are essential criteria for illustrators, the study then seeks to understand

the processes in the publication of CIB, and to trace the methods by which illustrators have

emerged from being backend support to gaining recognition among parents, educators and

audiences alike.

The textual narrative, descriptive nature of qualitative analysis combined with reliable

organisation of selected CIB publications from a variety of sources provides a meaningful

way to explore and understand visual-based thinking. By examining the reactions and

interpretation of emergent visual literacy, a better understanding of the use of illustrations as

reinforcement tools in the developmental reading process for the young readers will be

obtained.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS

CIB serves an important purpose, but society as a whole may be unable to identify the

group of stakeholders involved creating children books. Most adults perceive content and

message as the focal point, language awareness perceived as more beneficial and significant,

compared to visual accompaniments in picture books. Nevertheless, the contributions of

illustrators should not be slighted: an illustrated book is the sum output of both illustrators

and writers setting out to convey their message in words and imaginings.

The Process of CIB Publishing

The process of publication normally begins with manuscript writing, followed by

choosing a representing publisher, distribution agent and specified medium. The artist or

illustrator is a cost factored in, while expense and profit-sharing negotiations can be a

laborious stage when a number of collaborators are involved. To “live in fear and awe of

them children” (Carthage College Center for Children’s Literature, 2010), the editorial and

agency panels sift through literal mountains of scripts to find the right work that engages

them enough that they would “fall in love” with it.


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Overarching the various planning stages is the choice of script ideas that fits the

overall vision and mission of the publishing company. A valuable differentiator in this

process is the research for target readership and market feasibility study as the audience’s

psychographic and demographic profiles supplies insight.

The initial process usually involves manuscript submissions to the publisher, then

authors and illustrators are invited to meet the project team comprising managers, editors,

agents and distributors. Fruitful meetings are important as key individuals frame every aspect

of decision and contribution mutually. Authoring CIB collaboratively is a laborious process,

and both creative and commercial outcomes can be expected in the journey from story or idea

drafting, manuscript revision, illustration, printing and finally, publication and marketing.

Illustrators occupy several positions: they unify the book’s objectives, recount the

author’s experiences, interpret its moods, expand, uplift and add pleasure to the text (Booker,

2012). Devising self-referential illustrations that “fall off the page, jump out at [readers]” and

accentuate the fictional aspects of the story are often used in postmodern CIB (Booker, 2012:

p.ii, citing Swaggerty, 2009). Successful collaborative outcomes may inspire illustrators to

turn their hands to writing stories with a view to publication (Alderman and Clayton, 1994).

Whether the project derives from commercial aspirations or experimental objectives, the

elements of clear communication must be present in every aspect of production.

Though most CIB productions involve scores of parties, some independent publishers

have proven their tenacity in working with resource and network limitations. Some

collaboration can turn out unique tales that resonate with specific audiences. Australian

author Bambi Gordon collaborated with Malaysian-born Joi Murugavell for the Oodlies

series (That Book You Like, 2013), to connect with children struggling with self-esteem. On

the other hand, others like Kadir Nelson, believe that the creative space is the artist’s domain

(Figure 6), and it would not work for collaborations to start with authors telling illustrators

“this is what I think it should look like” (Buchanan, 2015).


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Figure 6: Kadir Nelson authored and painted If You Plant a Seed (2015)

From an agent’s perspective, CIB partnerships involving “husband-wife, sibling or

even best friend teams where one party is a professional illustrator and the other writes”

(Sterry, 2011) could result in outstanding production, but issues which mar likelihood of

acceptance include ineffective pitching during submission, lack of talent credentials, haste,

and lack of persistence are factors distinguishing strong from flawed submissions. From the

illustrator’s perspective, a good editorial matching between the author and artist begins with a

common understanding of what the illustrator must do to expand the story’s themes and

moods, besides having a grasp of the peripherals that are relevant to storytelling.

Drawing on New Forms of Visual Interactivity

From the foregoing, we can advance the view that clarity of purpose and vibrancy are

the new currencies of CIB, educational or otherwise, in raising reader interest. With both

fictitious and reality-based literature often depending on the power of pictures and

illustrations to carry a plot, provide temporal and spatial settings, drive momentum, convey

experiences and historical narratives (Booker, 2012), the challenge that illustrators face is to

understand the value of visual images being increasingly exploited within the fabric of

‘intertextuality’. The function of pictures in traditional CIB has mostly been a theme of


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subjective discussion, but in the postmodern age, visuals which support texts such as

storybooks, poems or comic anthologies have been embraced through regarding a child’s

standpoint as the yardstick to interpret a multiplicity of complex meanings in language, oral,

spatial and semiotic systems of society and culture (Bull and Anstey, 2010). Following

Anstey (2002), today’s new literacies is a result from a scope of global influences and greater

technological access, creating a desire among groups in societies to respond to symbolic

cultural ideation, and digital platforms (Figure 7) available for parent-children interaction

with story characters and narration include publishing group Penguin’s Storytime Hangout

webcam application (app) on Google+ (Dredge, 2013).

Further, since intertextuality now involves every source of text and media that bears

symbolic communication, meaning making and expressions, this elicits the need for authors

and illustrators to work collaboratively to deliver rich textual value to children whose native

language disables them from processing and constructing meanings when working in other

languages (Rowe, 1987, cited in Whitin 1994). CIB design execution is increasingly

uncomplicated, with software programmes being used in publication formatting. Illustrators

and authors must aim for stretch goal through new kinds of collaborative mediums and

intertextual media applications.

Figure 7: Three Billy Goats Gruff, children story app created by Penguin Digital (2013)

In tapping this relatively unexplored area, artists could apply traditional drawing or

painting skills in new media, embracing updated production techniques such as multimedia,

animation and applications, leading to the development of new skills beyond basic graphic art

training and designing knowledge. An exemplar is former cartoonist, sculptor and painter


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Raghava KK (TED, 2011) who produces digital artwork which challenges children’s

thinking, by literally ‘shaking up’ their notions of identity, social status, conformity, and

gender orientation. Raghava is behind Pop-it, an interactive iPad book designed to explore

the concept of an ideal family (Figure 8), with playful features incorporating drawing as well

as moving and shaking the screen to get different results (Inspir3d, 2011).

Cultural outreach approaches and methods must also be considered in the publication

of children reading material online, to suit the urban populace who prefer new informational

tools and media technologies. CIB publishers could introduce their books in other languages,

including neighbouring markets with similar preferences. Interactive visual learning could

involve larger, more encompassing ventures. In cooperation with government institutions,

local or international NGO’s and community schools, literacy-enabling programmes may be

the longer term answer.

As societies orientate towards active learning and engagement in digital

communication, and technological usage increases, technological design manipulation has

become an almost inseparable notion in tandem with the argument that traditional learning

models do not work anymore. In short, as the younger generation articulate their digital self-

identities online, encounter Web-based published materials, and share their media

experiences with a globally networked audience, innovative visual concepts represent an

aspect of the N-Gen (youth and children of the Internet generation), as described by Tapscott

(1998) in his book, Growing Up Digital, the self that is focused, articulate, creative, curious,

analytical, self-reliant, social, fluent, and bored with television (Egnatoff, 1999).

Open libraries, educational play stores or museums showcasing interactive

installations are worthy ways to connect children with visual-based learning. Such

programmes and dedicated spaces would involve resources, costs, trained staff, and

infrastructure and evaluative frameworks to promote CIB engagement, at the same time

provide artists, illustrators and instructors the opportunity to develop and improve the quality

of their offerings.


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Figure 8: Raghava KK Inc’s iPad book that takes a quirk look at ‘parent-child

relationships’ CONCLUSION

Famed American writer and cartoonist Dr Seuss noted that children craved constantly

for the very things adults desire: “To laugh, to be challenged, to be entertained and

delighted”. CIB are awakening repositories of imaginative ideas, wit, poetry, rhymes, plots

and the celebration of our sensorial and cognitive beings. Through storytelling, children

enhance understanding of concepts and cultural environments. However, the dictates of the

young target audience, parents’ and educators’ desire for literacy material that encourages

critical thinking and builds social interactions should be the basis for creating children books

today. These form the core mission of visual communicators involved in publishing children

books.

Notwithstanding that teaching is not the job of either illustrators or children writers,

their roles in enhancing children’s cognitive and literacy development cannot be overlooked.

Whether the focus in on commercial book production or serving young people training to

become professional writers and illustrators, producers, publishers, authors and illustrators of

CIB must attempt to inform and build their potential through lifelong interactive habits, and

set the stage for further improvement in an increasingly discerning and appreciative

publishing market. It is also true that writers and artists are subject to the publishing


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industry’s constant demands for reinvention, and in the final say, key audiences – children

and parents, would be the stakeholders to please before manuscripts are considered for viable

publication. Experience in CIB show the genre is gaining intense appreciation, and industry

players play mutually supportive key roles to define, discuss and describe their achievements

in this promising field. At the same time, the movement to use CIB beneficially to enhance

school-based curricula is emerging, along with the promotion of collaborations that showcase

the wide range of recent CIB, founded on teamwork and strategic investment of knowledge

and experiences by stakeholder parties, from parents to teaching practitioners, authors,

illustrators and publishers.

To ensure relevance of CIB to current educational practices, visual-based learning

must aim at supporting literacy improvement, with CIB as part of enrichment activities

towards that end. Lastly, the storytelling community’s enthusiasm to capture and uplift the

imagination of children must take into account the national literacy goals of society in

developing cultural patterns of intertextual understanding that shapes young readers. Visual

literacy aids in understanding and evaluating children’s thinking and their sense making

about the world, about others and most of all, about themselves. The answer to these

challenges may just be found in CIB.

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Bibliography of Books Cited, Illustrators& Image Credits

1. Bang, M. (2008) When Sophie Gets Angry – Really, Really Angry. New York: Blue Sky Press/Scholastic Inc.Figure 5: Illustrator: Molly Bang. Image retrieved from: http://www.mollybang.com/Images/sophie.jpg

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7. Shea, B. (2008) Big Plans. New York: Hyperion Books. Figure 4: Illustrator: Lane Smith. Image retrieved from http://bobshea.com/?p=22

8. Storytime Hangout (n.d.) Penguin Digital: Penguin Books Ltd. Product site: http://www.storytimehangout.com/Figure 7: Illustrator: Marcia Brown. Image retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/technology/appsblog/2013/may/29/penguin-storytime-hangout-google

DRAWING ON COLLABORATIVE VENTURES TO VISUAL …Impact Factor 2.417, ISSN: 2320-5083, Volume 4, Issue...

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