In the future I will probably talk about some of my favorite picture book illustrators, but for now, I'll just tell you that one of my all-time favorites is David Wiesner. The montage at the top of this post shows covers of some of his books. He tells his story through his artwork, with very few words, if any. Several titles have won the coveted Caldecott Award, most recently, my personal favorite, Flotsam. (Of course, it seems that his most recent book is always my favorite.) Why You Should Read Children's Books as an Adult
by Jen Robinson http://jkrbooks.typepad.com/blog/
- It's fun.
- It keeps your imagination active.
- It strenghtens your relationship with the children in your life who read.
- It sets an example for the children in your life, making them more likely to become readers.
- It clues you in on cultural references that you may have missed (both current and classical).
- It's fast. Children's books are usually shorter than adult books, so if you don't think you have time to read, you DO have time to read children's books.
- It allows you to read across genres. Children's books aren't limited to mystery OR science fiction OR fantasy OR literary fiction. They can have it all.
- It's like time travel -- it's an easy way to remember the child that you once were, when you first read a book.
- It's often inspirational -- reading about heroes and bravery and loyalty makes you want to be a better person. And couldn't we all do with some of that?
- Did I mention that it's fun? Source: Jen Robinson's Book Page, 2005.
A very wonderful list, but I would add three more:
- Children's books are written with children in mind, so the plot moves along in a way designed to keep the reader's attention.
- Children's books are written with children in mind, so they usually have purer content.
- And the one I always mention to anyone who will listen: The art work in picture books is jaw-dropping. Some of the very best artists and illustrators can be found inside the covers of picture books. Sometime try to read a picture book just by the illustrations. Imagine an illustrator reading the copy for a future picture book and then working up 32 pages of artwork...each illustration designed in a way to flow with the text and hopefully capture the essence of the author's intent.
3 comments:
I love the art in children's books. Of course, I still have children to read them to, but I think I'll still read children's books when my nest is empty. Evangeline and I enjoyed the book Small Beauties that you posted on your blog last week. The illustrations in it are beautiful.
Jennifer, I'm glad you and Evangeline liked Small Beauties. The author's comment about building the story around a part of Henry Ford's life surprised me.
I have indulged myself in the purchase of dozens of children's books over the years! And illustrations are a HUGE part of my motivation!
I'm sure you know too that CS Lewis claimed that any children's book that wasn't worth reading at age 50, wasn't worth being read by at age 10 (or something like that...!).
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