1. Picture Books – A Summary from Children’s Books in Children’s Hands January 23, 2008 Multicultural Children’s Literature

2. Types of Picture Books Toy Books-books that allow interaction for young children Concept Books-books that actual teach children about a concept or topic Alphabet Books Counting/Number Books Wordless Books – books without words Beginning Reader Books – predictable books and easy readers

3. Elements of Design in Picture Books

4. LINE Lines can be thin, light, heavy and bold. The can be straight, jagged, wavy or zigzagged. Line can be used to effectively show movement in an illustration. Example in Moses – pages 3-4

5. SHAPE “Shape is created when spaces are contained by a combination of lines.” Shape can help create a sense of the setting of the story – whether it is meant to be rural vs. urban, scary vs. calming, etc. Example: The Man who Walked between the Towers

6. COLOR Color can be varied or it can be consistent – the author may choose a wide variety of colors or he or she may choose to stick with one of two colors. Color and shading of those colors helps to create the mood of a story. Examples: Uno’s Garden and The Spider and the Fly

7. LIGHT Light in a story directly connects with the colors in a story. An author’s use of light contributes to the mood of the story, the state of mind of characters, or to better describe the setting. Example: Moses

8. TEXTURE “Texture is the illusion of a tactile surface created in an illustration.” Example: What do you do with a Tail like This?

9. ARTISTIC MEDIA

10. Painting Most children’s books are illustrated with watercolors. The watercolors allow authors to show many emotions in the characters and settings. Example: Jerry Pinkney – from pencils to colored pencils to watercolors

11. Pencil Drawings Authors use balck-and-white pencil drawings to convey certain moods. You can create sharp lines, “smudged shadows” and delicate features with a pencil. Example: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

12. Paper Crafts – Collage, Papermaking and Cut Paper Cutting and pasting different sizes and shapes of paper can create interesting illustrations. (collage) Examples: What do you do with a Tail like This?, Eric Carle’s books