When I say that I love being read to by a child who can't read, many people ask, "If they can't read, how are they reading to you?" It's amazing how children tell the stories they see in pictures. I know several children who don't know how to read yet who solemnly go to the library, check out picture books, and "read" them for hours, flipping each page and running their fingers along the words as they tell you the story. I once tried to take the pictures from a book without the words and came up with a story that was completely irrelevant to the actual story. Given children's interest in the pictures and their interpretation of the story from the pictures, having pictures that go with the story is important. This is true not just for children who can't read but are "reading" a story, but for children who are being read to as well as those children who can read. The pictures in a book will end up being a distraction if they are not tied in with the story.
I am sure there is a very scientific explanation for all of this. One that comes to mind is that abstract thinking develops as the child gets older, hence the gradual decrease of pictures in books for older children.
To honor the illustrators of picture books, the Caldecott Medal is an award given to a picture book published during the year. The medal is not only acknowledging great pictures, but the story being told in the pictures; the story the children (and many of us) "read." Again, Hugo Cabret comes to mind as an extreme, and amazing, form of "reading" the pictures. The Caldecott Medal isn't just a fancy seal. It is a recognition of an important part of children's literature.
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Safia,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your discussion about reading the pictures rather than reading the words. I think it really draws emphasis to the importance of honoring the illustrator with the Caldecott Medal.
I am thinking of some of the picture books to which we have been exposed and how different the story may have been if we considered the pictures free of text. I think the Caldecott winners would have still had a strong story to tell through illustrations while others may have not been so strong.
While the illustrations have to fit with the words by the author, this doesn't mean that it is only those words that fit the illustrations. I do think there is something to be said that, while the Caldecott takes into consideration the relationship between the text and pictures, the strength of the illustrations to stand alone and be interpreted is very important.
I agree. Illustrations should have meaning when standing alone too, but when with the text, they need to relate to it.
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