The art of the picture book

The collaborative process

When a publisher accepts a text from an author, an illustrator is sourced. In the instances when I’m that illustrator, generally I construct a dummy book, divided into the usual standard 32-page format for picture books. I then decide on page breaks and where text and illustrations might be placed.

Once I’ve completed pencil sketches, these may or may not (depending on the publisher) be sent back to the author for comment. Then the editor looks at the draft and finally the designer, who decides on style and size of font and how much space the text will take. At this point, I begin work on colour illustrations. Before a book can work, a lot of input is required from a number of people.

If I’m writing and illustrating, the process is quite different, as I’m deciding on the story, text and pictures simultaneously. I think for people who write and illustrate picture books, the pictures probably have more importance.

As an author/illustrator can control both text and pictures, I tend to cut my words right down and only draw what I want to draw. I can draw a duck in the action of walking along, without saying so in the text. I think books that are written and illustrated by the same person can sometimes fail in the story but often win in the pictures, as the pictures are usually so strong.

Elements of a picture book

A picture book is a collaboration between author, illustrator, designer and editor.

A picture book doesn’t necessarily have to tell a story - especially for toddlers. An example is a baby’s board book, or a book that has illustrations showing what a child can do, or what a child already knows and can recognise.

Children enjoy relating to a picture book. Picture books can have action and adventure, but there are also a number of titles that are based on quiet, peaceful themes. A classic picture book would have a character facing some kind of problem, which they try to overcome, and maybe after trying and trying, something works and there’s a happy ending, for example Where’s Spot?, or The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

The main character is always important, and children relate best to a child or failing a child, an animal. They relate less well to an adult as the main character. If the main character is an animal, the animal can have an adventure where they are put in a lot more danger than a child, for example being lost at the zoo. Depicting a child lost at the zoo could potentially be very distressing for a young child. But a cat lost at the zoo is less scary.

Animals can either have clothes and toys, and do what the child would do, or not. In some books, a toy has the adventure. Some animals are depicted as themselves, with no human attributes, and in other books, a child may have a dinosaur for a pet. A child relates to a character that sounds familiar to them, for example, a little brother, even if in the book the little brother is a piglet.

Common themes

Themes can include friendship, belonging, loss, love and courage. More recently, picture books have concentrated on themes such as ‘I want to share’ or ‘sometimes I get angry’.  Some books have a more subtle message, or no message – they’re just a story about an adventure.

Although picture books are for children, they’re not bought by children. So publishers monitor what parents or grandparents might want, and the considerations of adults can also play into themes for children.

A child’s visual literacy is as good as an adult’s. They can look at a picture and work out what’s happening, which is a skill we, as adults, tend to take for granted, perhaps because we acquire it at such a young age. Visual literacy happens much earlier than the ability to read, and this is evidenced when a child looks at a picture and makes remarks about what is happening.

It’s the pictures that talk to the young child, and in most cases a child can understand the theme of the story long before they are able to make sense of the words.

Creating an experience

The experience of the picture book for a child is how you use it and how you read it. Many children just enjoy sitting with an adult on the couch looking at the pictures.  Children get the attention of the adult and the happy experience of looking at something together, more than an appreciation of what the book has to offer.

Children also learn how to hold a book, turn pages, and talk about the story and pictures. I guess the process of reading to children is to make it seem like a pleasure and something they would like to do for themselves.

At this early stage, it’s worth encouraging a child to see reading and books as something that’s worth doing. I believe there’s an argument for preferring very realistic books for toddlers. Fantasy has very little place in picture books for this age group. At the age of two for example, children are amazed by the actual world. I don’t think they necessarily need imposed fantasy at this age.

Everything is new to a very young child, and personally I feel that perhaps this age group would be better served by picture books that concentrate more on the concrete world that children are learning about.
For example, if you find a sheep amazing, you don’t need to know about dragons. If tall trees in the park can be a magical experience for a little child, why confuse them with dragons?

What to look for in a picture book

• Good design. The job of the designer is to lay the text in and choose the font and size. A good designer curls text around illustrations, works it up and down and decides on font colour. White text for example, only looks good when the background is very dark. When text is displayed in an unimaginative block it can be quite uninspiring, not adding anything to the pictures at all.
   
• Cultural appropriateness. A small child has no sense of how the world is – they’re only just learning about how we, as humans, operate. Although appropriate for older children, books with strong cultural themes foreign to the child’s family may be difficult to explain to a toddler..
   
• Age appropriateness. Board books are designed for babies and toddlers under two years. These may be just pictures or pictures and single words that name, describe, or help to teach numbers or the alphabet. Most picture books that combine story with illustrations are designed for children aged between two and five years. However, not every picture book published is designed for little children. There’s a place for picture books that talk about the big issues, but they need to be used for older children, where the book is placed into some sort of context..
   
• Stereotyping. Picture books can help to reinforce or challenge themes of race, gender, disability or life within family units. Take time to read through the book before purchasing, so that you know what it’s about..
   
• Illustrations. With picture books, the words should never really describe what happens in the picture. That’s what pictures are for. Kids can also sometimes be confused by animals representing people in picture books. To a young child for example, daddy depicted as a cat is actually not daddy - it's a cat! The use of animals can help with themes that a child may find difficult to understand or talk about, such as jealousy or anger or loss..
   
• Childhood experiences.  Look for themes that help to support your child’s experiences (new baby, starting school, making friends), and that provide the opportunity for further discussion.

Judith Rossell is a Melbourne-based children’s picture book writer and illustrator. She has written and/or illustrated more than 20 titles for children, including her popular Inspector Stilton series. In total, Judith has contributed illustrations to more than 80 books.