CARMINE: A LITTLE MORE RED
Illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005 | 978-0-618-38794-6
An excellent example of an alphabet book built into a story, this takeoff on Little Red Riding Hood contains some words that might not readily come to mind for this tale. Haiku? Nincompoop? Yodel? Yes, they are all in here, and they work. The mixed-media illustrations feature the color red, of course, but it does not overpower the greens, browns, blues, and yellows. The endpapers at the front feature labeled and unlabeled objects in shades of red—alphabet pasta (which figures into the story) spells out names on the labels—and the endpapers at the back feature additional colors, more alphabet pasta, and a recipe for Granny’s alphabet soup. Unlike other Little Reds, this story ends happily for all, even the wolf. An interesting contrast is Ann Whitford Paul’s version, Tortuga in Trouble (Holiday House, 2009). See, too, Gail Carson Levine’s Betsy Red Hoodie (HarperCollins, 2010), in which the wolf is a shepherd to a flock of wisecracking sheep. An African version of the tale appears in Niki Daly’s Pretty Salma (Clarion, 2007). Jerry Pinkney’s take stays true in title and telling: Little Red Riding Hood (Little, Brown, 2007).
Taback, Simms 3–8 years
THIS IS THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT
Illustrated by Simms Taback
New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2002 | 978-0-399-23488-0
The traditional tale of Jack’s House appears here, exploding in color and humorous detail. The page about the cheese features nine different types, complete with descriptive comments on their smell. The page with the dog uses collage to show several types of dog food, a dish, and biscuits. Agreements, summonses, and other legal documents litter the page introducing the judge. This theme carries throughout the book, including the endpapers, which are packed with small paintings of houses over newspaper real estate ads. The words in bright colors, as the cumulative story progresses, become more and more packed on the page. The collage illustrations add to the manic mood. A comical take on a familiar rhyme, this version adds a final section that features the artist.
VanHecke, Susan, reteller 4–8 years
AN APPLE PIE FOR DINNER
Illustrated by Carol Baicker-McKee
Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish, 2009 | 978-0-7614-5452-6
Based on an English folktale, this story follows an old woman who wishes to make an apple pie but has no apples. She takes a walk and trades what she has with various characters along the way until she finds someone who can trade for apples. In the end, all the characters enjoy apple pie seated at her table. Bas-reliefs of baked clay and mixed media project a three-dimensional look to the illustrations. The folksy charm of the illustrations suits the tale. Check the details, such as cuts in green material to represent grass and the clasp on Granny Smith’s shawl of a Granny Smith apple. A recipe for apple pie appropriately ends the book. Bobbi Miller’s One Fine Trade (Holiday House, 2009) presents a backwoods version.
Ward, Jennifer 4–8 years
THERE WAS AN OLD MONKEY WHO SWALLOWED A FROG
Illustrated by Steve Gray
Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish, 2010 | 978-0-7614-5580-6
A googly-eyed, big-eared monkey takes on the title role in this version of “There was an old lady who swallowed a fly.” Here, the monkey swallows all sorts of rain forest animals, not to mention some cocoa. As the rhyme progresses, the manic illustrations in digital media keep piling on, until the final page is stuffed full of creatures. Listeners will enjoy finishing the sentences as they repeat, and seeing what animal is next to be swallowed. The jungle scenes abound in green, while the creatures represent a rainbow of colors, crisp lines, and goofy expressions. Great good fun to read and hear. Compare to There Was an Old Monster! (Orchard/Scholastic, 2009) by Rebecca, Adrian, and Ed Emberley, also full of animals and rich colors.
Willey, Margaret 4–8 years
CLEVER BEATRICE
Illustrated by Heather Solomon
New York: Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, 2001 | 978-0-689-83254-3
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula becomes the setting for this Canadian conte, a story told with humor and exaggeration. Beatrice, known by her village neighbors to be a quick thinker, visits a rich giant in order to help her poor mother. Through a series of bets, and without having to prove her strength, she outsmarts the giant, who is so sure of his own. In the end, she wins a bag full of coins and the admiration of her mother. Readers and listeners will delight in this fearless little girl’s use of brains over brawn. The illustrations, rendered in watercolor, collage, acrylic, and oils, bring out the rich browns, reds, oranges, and greens of the forests. The endpapers contain colorful maps of Northern Wisconsin and Michigan, some of the Great Lakes, and a bit of Canada, with characters from the book scattered throughout. For another clever character, read Jack Outwits the Giants by Paul Brett Johnson (Simon & Schuster, 2002).
Suggested Resources
For Further Research into Picture Books
These books and organizations will aid teachers, librarians, writers, and parents who want to know more about picture books and their uses. The titles are, for the most part, published within the last ten years, although the list includes several classics as well. In cases where the entire text is not devoted to picture books, I have indicated which chapters or sections cover them.
Amoss, Berthe, and Eric Suben. Writing and Illustrating Children’s Books for Publication: Two Perspectives. Rev ed. Cincinnati: Writer’s Digest, 2005.
Authors with backgrounds in writing, illustrating, teaching, and editing offer a short course on all aspects of children’s literature, with many examples from picture books.
Asher, Sandy. Writing It Right! How Successful Children’s Authors Revise and Sell Their Stories. West Redding, CT: Writer’s Institute, 2009.
The section on picture books examines the drafts that went into the making of four of these books, plus interviews with the authors.
Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association. www.ala.org/alsc.
ALSC bestows the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Belpré, Schneider Family, and other book awards and advocates on behalf of reading and books.
Bader, Barbara. American Picturebooks from Noah’s Ark to the Beast Within. New York: Macmillan, 1976.
An excellent source for the study of the history of this form. Covers the famous authors and artists, styles, publishers, and social change.
Bang, Molly. Picture This: How Pictures Work. San Francisco: SeaStar, 2000.
How do shape, color, size, and layout “make” a picture? Bang explains, with ample illustrations of her simple yet emotionally complex shapes.
Bomhold, Catharine, and Terri E. Elder. Twice Upon a Time: A Guide to Fractured, Altered, and Retold Folk and Fairy Tales. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2008.
An annotated list of versions of twenty-seven common tales, with notes as to the country or culture of origin. Includes title, author, illustrator, country/culture, and motif indexes.
Broman, Jennifer. Storytime Action! 2,000+ Ideas for Making 500 Picture Books Interactive. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2003.
———. More Storytime Action. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2009.
Bring sound and motion to storytimes in public and school libraries with these ideas.
Cooperative Children’s Book Center. www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc.
A wealth of information for librarians, teachers, day care providers, and students of children’s literature. The CCBC also presents the annual Charlotte Zolotow Award.
Edwards, Gail, and Judith Saltman. Picturing Canada: A History of Canadian Children’s Illustrated Books and Publishing. University of Toronto, 2010.
A comprehensive examination of children’s literature in Canada, especially illustrated books, 1800s to the present. With information on major publishers, authors, illustrators, awards, and cultural identity.
Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Amherst, MA. www.carlemuseum.org.
Learn how twelve illustrators found their calling and how they work; includes lots of illustrations.
Evans, Janet, ed. Talking Beyond the Page: Reading and Responding to Picturebooks. London: Routledge, 2009.
A collection of scholarly essays on children’s understanding and response to books, with chapters on endpapers, frames, narrative, and immigrant children’s responses.
Giblin, James Cross. The Giblin Guide to Writing Children’s Books. 4th ed. West Redding, CT: Writer’s Institute, 2005.
Practical advice from a children’s author and editor. Three chapters specifically concern picture books.
Hearn, Michael Patrick, Trinkett Clark, and H. Nichols B. Clark. Myth, Magic, and Mystery: One Hundred Years of American Children’s Book Illustration. Boulder, CO: Roberts Rinehart, in cooperation with the Chrysler Museum of Art, 1996.
Revel in the variety of styles and subjects in this history, beginning with the British forebears of children’s book illustration.
Kirk, Connie Ann. Companion to American Children’s Picture Books. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2005.
More than four hundred entries on important books, authors, illustrators, and related topics.
Knowles, Liz, and Martha Smith. Understanding Diversity through Novels and Picture Books. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2007.
A guide to literature and resources for teachers and librarians, with chapters on a variety of ethnic groups, as well as ageism, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and other issues.
Lima, Carolyn W., and Rebecca L. Thomas. A to Zoo: Subject Access to Children’s Picture Books. 8th ed. Providence, NJ: R.R. Bowker, 2010.
A standard reference tool in libraries, this extensive subject guide provides bibliographic information, title index, and illustrator index.
Marantz, Sylvia, and Ken Marantz. Multicultural Picturebooks: Art for Illuminating Our World. 2d ed. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2005.
Find annotated listings of picture books covering Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and cross-cultural. Includes original tales, folk tales, and immigrant experiences.
Marcus, Leonard S. Ways of Telling: Conversations on the Art of the Picture Book. New York: Dutton, 2002.
Children’s literature scholar Marcus interviews fourteen writers and illustrators, including some of the biggest names in picture books, such as Zolotow, Sendak, and Pinkney.
Matulka, Denise I. A Picture Book Primer: Understanding and Using Picture Books. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2008.
Discover the anatomy, genres, development, issues, and uses of picture books in this comprehensive guide. Companion website: www.picturingbooks.com.
Mazza Museum. University of Findlay, OH. www.findlay.edu/offices/resources/mazza.
McCannon, Desdemona, Sue Thornton, and Yadzia Williams. The Encyclopedia of Writing and Illustrating Children’s Books. Philadelphia: Running Press, 2008.
How is a children’s book created? This heavily illustrated volume covers word and picture, fiction and nonfiction. Much of the content is applicable to picture books, especially the many sections on illustration.
National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature. Abilene, TX. www.nccil.org.
Nikolajeva, Maria, and Carole Scott. How Picturebooks Work. New York: Routledge, 2006.
In-depth look at how pictures and words come together by analyzing setting, characters, narrative, language, and more. Uses American and Swedish picture books as examples.
Nodelman, Perry. Words about Pictures: The Narrative Art of Children’s Picture Books. Athens: University of Georgia, 1988.
This scholarly, oft-cited book covers such concepts as style as meaning, codes and symbols, the depiction of action and time, and the relationship of pictures and words.
Pantaleo, Sylvia. Exploring Student Response to Contemporary Picturebooks. University of Toronto, 2008.
A scholarly analysis of children’s interpretations of books, based on a four-year study of first and fifth graders.
Paul, Ann Whitford. Writing Picture Books: A Hands-On Guide from Story Creation to Publication. Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest, 2009.
Although geared to children’s writers, anyone interested in the structure of picture books, importance of words, and characteristics of the reader will find much to learn.
Polette, Nancy J. Reading the World with Picture Books. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited/ABC-CLIO, 2010.
For over one hundred countries, an annotated list of picture books, plus activities to fulfill national standards in language arts and social studies.
———. Teaching Thinking Skills with Picture Books, K–3. Westport, CT: Teacher Ideas/Libraries Unlimited, 2007.
Reproducible classroom activities for teachers and school librarians to use with classic and recent picture books.
Salisbury, Martin. Illustrating Children’s Books: Creating Pictures for Publication. Hauppauge, NY: Barron’s, 2004.
Covers the art of drawing; materials; making characters come alive; and the illustration of picture books, chapter books, and nonfiction.
Shulevitz, Uri. Writing with Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children’s Books. New York: Watson-Guptill, 1985.
Well illustrated with numerous line drawings and reproductions, this book could be used as a text for aspiring writer/illustrators.
Sipe, Lawrence R., and Sylvia Pantaleo, eds. Postmodern Picturebooks: Play, Parody, and Self-Referentiality. New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis, 2008.
A collection of scholarly articles by professors of children’s literature. A good overview of postmodernism in the picture book.
Spitz, Ellen Handler. Inside Picture Books. New Haven: Yale University, 1999.
A scholar in art, psychology, and culture, Spitz looks at classic children’s books and how they affect children.
Stanton, Joseph. The Important Books: Children’s Picture Books as Art and Literature. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2005.
Separate chapters explore the words and art of books by Margaret Wise Brown, Arnold Lobel, Donald Hall and Barbara Cooney, Maurice Sendak, William Joyce, and Chris Van Allsburg.
Stephens, Claire Gatrell. Picture This! Using Picture Story Books for Character Education in the Classroom. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2004.
Comprehensive lesson plans for teachers in grades K–8 to teach character and integrate the lessons of the books into their curriculum.
Sutherland, Zena. Children & Books. 9th ed. New York: Longman, 1997.
The classic text on children’s literature, covering history, types, authors and illustrators, and the use of children’s literature in the classroom.
Vardell, Sylvia M. Children’s Literature in Action: A Librarian’s Guide. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2008.
See especially chapters on “Picture Books” and “Traditional Tales” for introductions to these types.
Withrow, Steven, and Lesley Breen Withrow. Illustrating Children’s Picture Books. Cincinnati: Writer’s Digest, 2009.
Solid instruction supplemented with case studies and interviews with experts, well illustrated throughout in color. A section on digital illustrations provides up-to-date advice.
Zipes, Jack, ed. The Norton Anthology of Children’s Literature: The Traditions in English. New York: W.W. Norton, 2005.
A hefty volume (2,471 pages) that goes back to the 1600s and Comenius’s Orbis Pictus. Divided into headings such as fairy tales, animal fables, science fiction, comics, and verse. See especially section on picture books, which includes representative illustrations.
Appendix 1
Picture Books about Art
These books revel in the wonder of museums, replete with well-known works of art, and in the magic of creating art—its inspirations and its process.
Anholt, Laurence. Cézanne and the Apple Boy. Hauppauge, NY: Barron’s, 2009.
A young
boy helps his father, the reclusive artist Paul Cézanne, who struggles to have his art taken seriously.
Baker, Sharon Reiss. A Nickel, a Trolley, a Treasure House. Illustrated by Beth Peck. New York: Viking, 2007.
Inspired by an understanding teacher, a boy in early 1900s New York visits a museum and recognizes his own artistic talent.
Beard, Alex. Monkey See, Monkey Draw. New York: Abrams, 2011.
A group of energetic monkeys discover the fun and possibilities of creating paintings from handprints and footprints.
Browne, Anthony. The Shape Game. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2003.
A young boy tours a museum, and the works of art become a springboard for family discussion in this humorous story.
Haseley, Dennis. Twenty Heartbeats. Illustrated by Ed Young. New York: Neal Porter/Roaring Brook, 2008.
Depicted as an old Chinese legend, this story portrays a famous painter commissioned by a rich man to create a painting of his favorite horse.
Hogrogian, Nonny. Cool Cat. New York: Neal Porter/Roaring Brook, 2009.
Helped by various animals, a cat changes their landscape from dull to colorful in this wordless picture book.
Johnson, Angela. Lily Brown’s Paintings. Illustrated by E.B. Lewis. New York: Orchard/Scholastic, 2007.
A young African American girl creates art based on the world she sees and the magic she imagines.
Larsen, Andrew. The Imaginary Garden. Illustrated by Irene Luxbacher. Toronto: Kids Can, 2009.
A little girl and her grandfather paint a colorful garden that enlivens their black-and-white apartments.
Lichtenheld, Tom. Bridget’s Beret. New York: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt, 2010.
A young girl loses her inspiration when she loses her artist’s beret.
Magoon, Scott. Hugo & Miles in I’ve Painted Everything! Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007.
Two friends take a trip to Paris, where the museums and the atmosphere inspire one of them to return to his painting.
Maltbie, P. I. Picasso and Minou. Illustrated by Pau Estrada. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 2005.
Picture Books for Children Page 20