picturebook theory
Schmalz Is as Schmalz Does
On 20, Dec 2015 | In Picturebooks | By Chris Vitale
Bradford, Clare. “Schmalz Is as Schmalz Does: Sentimentality and Picture Books.” Papers: Explorations into Children’s Literature 7.3 (Dec. 1997): 17–32.
Referrer: Carrie Hintz
Categories: picturebook, visual storytelling, publishing, printing process, history of picturebooks, picturebook psychology, picturebook theory, sentimentality, cultural norms
Annotation:
Bradford explores how sentimentality is represented in the illustrations found in children’s picture books. In order to do this work, Bradford reads picture books that deal with trauma and extreme emotions such as sadness and grief. Sentimentality is connected to societal assumptions around gender, emotion, and cultural norms. By close reading illustrations in a range of texts that deal with complex emotions, Bradford endeavors to argue that sentimental picture books rely on the interplay of narrative textual and visual elements to manipulate the reader’s subjective understanding of the text.
Children’s Picturebooks: The Art of Visual Storytelling.
On 20, Dec 2015 | In Picturebooks | By Chris Vitale
Salisbury, Martin, and Morag Styles. Children’s Picturebooks: The Art of Visual Storytelling. Laurence King Publishing, 2012.
Referrer: Chris Vitale
Categories: picturebook, visual storytelling, publishing, printing process, history of picturebooks, picturebook psychology, picturebook themes, picturebook theory
Annotation:
Salisbury and Morag begin by outlining a brief history of the picturebook from early precursors through the birth of the modern picturebook all the way to the twenty-first century. Chapter 4, titled “Word and Image, Word as Image,” explores the relationship between words and images. Other interesting points of inquiry include the relationship of picturebooks to the child, the influence of printing process and the publishing industry, as well as whether certain themes found in picturebooks are suitable for children. This text contributes to a broad overview of picturebooks as a unique form of multimodal literature that has a variety of intricacies and influences.