Rate this book

Children's Picturebooks: The Art Of Visual Storytelling (2012)

by Martin Salisbury(Favorite Author)

4.19 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

185669738X (ISBN13: 9781856697385)

languge

English

genre

Middle Grade & Children's

publisher

Laurence King Publishing

review 1: This is a beautiful book, and I really wanted to like it, but, in the end, it simply isn't adequate as a comprehensive study of the picture book genre. At first, I thought that it simply didn't meet my research criteria. I'm researching picture books in the US. This book is by British authors, so they're bound to be coming from a different perspective. As I kept reading, though, I realized that the problem goes deeper than that. At one point, the authors describe their rationale for which books to include thus:”The picturebooks we highlight in this volume are not these cosy ones, but those that are more risk-taking in every sense--demanding themes, sophisticated artistic styles, complex ideas and the implied notion of a reader as someone who will relish these challe... morenges and take them in their stride, as long as the books are engaging.”In other words, they chose books, not based on their historical importance for the genre or enduring popularity with children, but because they conformed to postmodern scholarly ideals. Presumably, it was this rationale that allowed them to leave out Dr. Suess altogether, while featuring a number of books by their own graudate students. The result is that the book presents an extremely skewed vision of the picture book, in which some of the most popular topics (folk tales, for instance) are never even mentioned.Moreover, I found their research into child reactions to picture books highly suspect. I don't necessarily disagree with their findings: in many cases, they tally with my experience with my own students. However, the methodology is seriously flawed. As an educator, I recognized telltale signs that children were being led by the researchers. To top it all off, the studies cited in this book fall into only two categories: studies by the authors themselves and PhD dissertations by the authors' students. The possibilities for bias under those circumstances are mindboggling.All of this brings us to a serious problem in the study of picture books. At least in America, the genre has changed so much over the last 20 years that the foundational studies published in the 1980s are hopelessly outdated. Children's Picturebooks is just about the only study recent enough to take those changes into account, but it has serious flaws. In the end, I'd say it's the best we've got at the moment, but I really hope a more comprehensive and responsibly researched book comes out very soon.
review 2: Visually, this is a really interesting and beautifully put together book. The authors offer an international perspective on picture books and their social and artistic significance. The chapters I enjoyed the most include "The Picturebook and the Child" (chapter 3) and "Word and Image, Word as Image" (Chapter 4). Both provide brief introductions to dense, difficult questions about how children respond to picturebooks and how they develop visual literacy. Salisbury states: "Our view is that in this increasingly visual world it is essential that children learn the skills of looking, appreciating, and interpreting visual material, including its design. This is something most children do quite naturally at an early age as they are drawn to pictures, color and form, but this instinct can be developed and enhanced by enlightened teaching and by learning how to analyze visual texts insightfully. Learning to look and see through drawing promotes and nurtures vital visual literacy skills" (77). *This would be an excellent choice for an undergraduate level children's literature/picture book seminar* less

Download links for: Children's Picturebooks: The Art of Visual Storytelling

Advertising