Slight change of title

I'm still on the same theme but thought my title needed to be altered slightly to accomodate the different angles this could take.

·         Discuss ways in which wordless picture books contribute to educational and emotional development. (discursive)

I have chosen the above approaches because they highlight my main interests and aims for my illustration work and focus on the elements of learning and emotional responses to images in wordless books as well as to highlight the power of wordless picture books in visual communication.  The selected essay title is also open to analysis from a cultural and trans-generational point of view as well as being relevant to the work l am doing practically.  I am interested in ‘cross-over’ books and their appeal to wider audiences and hope my illustrated books will do that. 

The most relevant approaches other than the discursive angle, l felt were the evaluative and analytical approaches and the two questions l formed about wordless picture books transcending cultures and generations.  However I felt these questions would not be something which l could not find a conclusive answer to within the realms of this brief; and l may find that there may not be enough conclusive evidence in the forms of studies and surveys which would provide foundation for the argument.  The discursive approach and the refining of the theme and their contribution to emotional and educational development allows for a more open discussion of all my findings without the requirement of a conclusive answer which would be difficult to reach.  I have researched the subject and found several sources l can reference in my investigation and the theme is one which is becoming more and more studied.  Wordless picture books are also becoming more widely used and are very useful in educational and emotional development settings. 

The focus of my study is solely on the role of the illustrations and their sequencing in the book, as they are without text, and so diversions onto written storylines won’t occur.  The topic relates to my FMP module as l am creating outcomes for a wordless picture book which is a story l have written myself resembling Cinderella in some ways.  Wordless picture books and graphic novels is an area l also see myself working in after graduation.  The function and appeal of wordless picture books is therefore of interest to me personally and relevant to the project on my other module as well as correlating with my long term aims.

Possible sources l can use in my investigation for this essay:

Evans, J., 1998, What’s in the Picture?  Responding to illustrations in Picture books.  London:  Paul Chapman Publishing Ltd.

Lawson, J, Smith, S., 2016, 'Footpath Flowers', London:  Walker Books

Louie, B., & Siershinski, J., Enhancing English Learners' Language Development Using Wordless Picture Books, The Reading Teacher, Vol: 69, issue 1, July / August 2015, pp 103-111.

Nikolajeva, M., 2013, Picturebooks and Emotional Literacy, The Reading Teacher, Vol: 67, Issue 4, December 2013 / January 2014, pp. 249-254.

Salisbury, M. & Styles, M., 2012, Children’s Picturebooks:  The Art of Visual Storytelling.  London:  Lawrence King Publishing.

Serafini, F., 2014, Exploring Wordless Picture Books, The Reading Teacher, Vol: 68, Issue 1, September 2014, pp. 24-26.

Tan, S., 2014, 'The Arrival', Sydney:  Lothian Books

Osbourne Williams, D., 1994, Every Picture Tells a Story:  The Magic of Wordless Books, School Library Journal, Vol: 40, Issue 8, August 1994, p. 38.

Villa, A, 2013, 'Flood', London:  Curious Fox

The work l produce will look at the subject matter from a variety of angles and use examples in different learning settings, including in primary school or adult education, as well as looking at emotional development.  This will give a broader overview of the effect wordless picture books can have on the learner and how they can be used as a tool for those with English as a second language for example.  I will see where my research takes me and try to be as comprehensive as possible but concise at the same time, using validated examples for reference.

Choosing the dissertation title

Having been in discussion with tutors from both my modules (Critical and Cultural Studies and Final Major Project) about the route l should investigate through my dissertation, as well as via discussions with peers, l feel my chosen topic certainly needs to reflect my interest in human emotion and how connections are made to wordless picture books.  Currently l am considering the title:

Discuss ways in which wordless picture books connect with human emotions and become trans-cultural and trans-generational in appeal.

Looking at the theme from the viewpoint of one which is: Multi-cultural, sociological, psycho-analytical, and psychological, theories l could employ in this essay could include:

Semiotic analysis:  What is signified by the signifiers in wordless picture books which connect or disconnect from certain age groups of cultures, are the signifiers universally understood to signify the same thing to each?

Redundancy and entropy:  What are the redundant and entropic features and is it right to assume that wordless picture books need a higher level of visual redundancy?

Iconography and iconology:  What are the motifs in the images and why were they chosen to represent the concept (considering the historical and cultural background of the image)?

Stereotypes:  Are these used prevalently in wordless picture books and how can they cross generational and cultural boundaries?

Metaphor and symbolism:  How can these be used effectively when targeting a trans-generational and trans-cultural audience?

John Berger’s ‘Ways of Seeing’:  How would Berger interpret the use of wordless picture books and their cultural and generational interpretations?

My main interest as a creative practitioner is to fully create my own wordless ‘crossover’ picture books (books which have intergenerational appeal but which may be defined as children’s picture books) which approach real life situations and problems and promote emotional responses in the readers.  The books will consider the young child in their presentation and subject matter but not be exclusive in targeting this audience.   l wish to engage a wider audience and one which can appreciate the illustration for the artistic value but also connect with the deeper meanings of the work.

Secondly, l am also interested in continuing with commissioned work from a commercial point of view and developing my experience in interpreting the texts of other creatives in an illustrative way.

Thirdly l am also interested in continuing my study of illustration as a means of communication and developing my rendering of the human form and facial expressions while continuing to develop my skills using a range of media.

These interests are reflected in my idea for theoretical investigation as outlined above, in the following ways:

·         I will further my knowledge and appreciation of the area of wordless ‘cross-over’ picture books, their appeal, their reach and longevity; an area which l hope to become more deeply involved in upon graduation

·         I will increase my critical analysis skills using the methods outlined above which will impact upon the outcomes l produce in my practical work

·         The themes of sociology, psychology and multi-culturalism are of great interest to me personally and l hope to reflect this in my practical outcomes to an extent which is relevant to the essay topic

·         Human emotions greatly interest me and as l particularly enjoy depicting human beings in my illustration work, l feel it is necessary to study this area as much as possible while also developing my skills at depicting these themes in my illustrated characters

My goals for writing the essay for this module are to:

·         Increase my knowledge about how people respond to visual texts and the impact it has upon them emotionally

·         Study the subjects of metaphor, symbolism and picture book codes and how they are used effectively in the rendering of wordless picture books

·         How effective wordless picture books are at crossing generational and cultural boundaries

·         To learn from my investigation and apply the findings to my own practical work

Tutor and peer feedback have assisted me in evaluating my ideas in the following ways:

·         The general consensus of opinion was that studying the subject of human emotion as well as wordless picture books were the strongest ideas with the most scope and potential for academic research

·         These two ideas were combined to create the essay route of investigation chosen

·         Both tutors liked the idea of studying the emotional responses to picture books; with Final Major Project tutor being keen for me to explore wordless picture books as this is the area l am currently working in my practical module

Critical and Cultural Studies: Three potential themes for dissertation

Critical and Cultural Studies

Three potential themes l have highlighted for my dissertation:

·         1.  ILLUSTRATING EMOTIONAL ISSUES IN CHILDREN’S BOOKS: How can emotional issues be addressed effectively in children’s literature without being too graphic or unnecessarily upsetting? (“Children are tough, though we tend to think of them as fragile. They have to be tough. Childhood is not easy. We sentimentalize children, but they know what’s real and what’s not. They understand metaphor and symbol. If children are different from us, they are more spontaneous. Grown-up lives have become overlaid with dross.” (Sendak, in Stopera, 2012).  How useful is this in tackling sensitive subject matter in the illustration of children’s books?

The theme relates to my own practice as this is an area l seek to become engaged in upon graduation.  I wish to explore the ways in which children’s books address emotional issues and how effective or not different approaches are.  This l can apply to my own practice because l plan to produce my own books on these themes.  Although a genre of books in the last decade or so has emerged to tackle issues often considered as being ‘modern problems’ such as divorce, single gender relationships or bullying for example, I feel children’s emotional issues are overlooked in the main, with most picture books aiming at the fantasy genre.  Although there is clearly a well deserved and necessarily place for fantasy themed picture books, children have many of the emotional issues that adults do, and books addressing these complex issues need to be readily available to enable children to talk about their problems or get help dealing with them.  These books can also be used by adults to help them view their own childhoods in a more reflective manner, which can help them in dealing with their own issues.  Pros in studying this theme include it being directly related to my own interest in this genre and its relation to my practice with the cons including the lack of ‘upsetting’ examples as opposed to ones that are more sensitively illustrated.  So how would l approach this?  Would l need to compare ‘sentimental’ picture books with those addressing more serious subjects?  This would mean l would be comparing two very different themes aimed at possibly two audiences.  Although sensitive themes can be touched upon in many books, even of the fantasy genre, as sub plots for example, they are often too subtle to be able to provide a suitable comparison.  This theme offers a wide range of sources but it would be difficult to pinpoint a specific angle to take on this and decide what exactly l could conclude from the study.

·         2.  WORDLESS VS. TEXTUAL PICTURE BOOKS? Are wordless picture books or those with text more or less effective at communicating the required message to the target audience?

I have spent a while writing stories for children and studied the ways in which stories use structure, prose, poetry and rhythm so help the story flow and keep children engaged, and found this very useful in seeing how successful picture books work and why ‘unsuccessful’ ones don’t work.  Writing the story l wanted to tell helped me to realise that, in fact my story didn’t benefit from the words and that the story could best be told solely by using pictures.  I found many examples of wordless picture books and graphic novels from which l can draw inspiration and these will help me in analyzing the theme should l choose this topic for further research.  Wordless picture books are successful (when done well), in communicating to a larger audience as the reader doesn’t have to be able to read words or understand the language in print.  However careful consideration must be given to the illustrations and how they tell the story, and whether they are clear enough to the ‘reader’.  Producing a successful wordless picture book is, for this reason, l believe much more of a challenge than producing one with text.  l would also argue that a higher level of redundancy over entropy needs to be used in order for the reader to gain a fuller insight into the unfolding events.  Pros of studying this theme include being able to directly relate it to an area of interest l have in creating my own wordless picture books, and cons being possibly that there are many more primary sources available for textual picture books than of wordless ones.

·         3.  MOTHERS AND HOW THEY ARE DEPICTED IN CHILDREN’S BOOKS:  Using various methods of critical analysis (e.g. redundancy and entropy, iconography and iconology, sterotypes etc.) the essay will look at the role of mothers in children’s books and how they are presented / illustrated to children, and how this relates to the wider ideological view in society.

It could be argued that our society reveres mothers and views them as being icons of selflessness and sacrifice where her children are concerned.  However many victims of abuse or neglect from their mothers are well aware that this is a fallacy; an ideology ingrained in society which is rarely challenged.  Looking at stereotypes here, as well as binary opposites and ideological inference can help to identify where these ideologies came from and how they can be confronted.  Children’s books, l believe invariably show mothers as being tender, loving and caring beings who would do anything for their children, but is this just a necessary ‘comfort blanket’ for adults and for children? and should ‘new versions’ of mother be allowed to emerge?  Where mothers are seen as being bad, they are almost always described as ‘step’ mothers (e.g. Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, etc.) which again, while stereotyping mothers positively, categorises step mothers in a negative sense.  Pros of this theme include being able to critically analyse using a variety of methods of deconstruction and theories as mentioned above which can also be applied to my Final Major Project module which has reference to this issue in the illustrations.  Cons of this theme could be difficulty in reaching conclusive answers about whether the mother stereotype should be challenged / changed, as if this hasn’t happened already, we don’t know whether it will be successful or not.

So now l need to decide which of these l can relate most to my own practice as well as which l feel has most potential for research.

Introduction

Hello, l am a final year BA (Hons) Illustration student, studying with the University of Hertfordshire. I live in Yorkshire with my husband and six boys (actually this is technically five now as one has gone to university...) aged between 11 and 20.  I am 41 years old and always loved drawing, painting and writing, though l did have a large gap of around 18 years where l couldn't engage in these activities due to bringing up a large family and following various types of employment.  However l have always found something creative to do, and once my youngest son began full time education l became immersed in teaching myself image making using a variety of techniques and mediums, as well as completing portrait and other art commissions.  A few years later l embarked upon studying for my illustration degree and l can't believe l am almost reaching the end of such a challenging road!

I have completed commissioned work for children's book illustrations already but upon graduation l hope to become more engaged in this genre as well as producing my own books.  Although l write stories l have a particular interest in wordless books; picture books or graphic novels.  I am particularly interested in true life tales using real characters, as opposed to the fantasy based stories which seem so prevalent today.  I feel quite strongly that children are just little people with their own ideas, experiences and problems, as opposed to children who should be hidden away from the realities of society, and l hope to produce books which deal with these issues in a sensitive and inspirational manner.  As writer / illustrator Maurice Sendak and many others agree, children's books shouldn't just be written for children, but for the wider audience to appreciate, while at the same time being sensitive and aware of the young viewer.  Children should be given more credit for their understanding of real life issues which so many of them face, and books covering issues like the ones l envisage would enable them to develop their skills in building empathy and understanding, as well as thinking of solutions to problems; all emotions they are beginning to develop by the age of around four.

Some books l find inspiring and are either similar in tone to the books l intend to produce myself, or follow the same format of wordless picture book or graphic novel include:

'Footpath Flowers' by Jon Arno Lawson (Illustrated by Sydney Smith)
Henry's Freedom Box' by Ellen Levine (Illustrated by Kadir Nelson)
'Hurricane' by David Wiesner
Here l am' by Patti Kim (Illustrated by Sonia Sanchez)
'The Arrival' by Shaun Tan
'Flood' by Alvaro F. Villa
'Rainstorm' by Barbara Lehman
'Jane, the Fox and Me' by Fanny Britt (Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault)

Sendak is a great inspiration to me and an article l read in the Guardian reflects his attitude towards what can be sometimes accused of 'dark' (though reflective of real life problems to a large extent) subject matter.  "If he had come from a happy home, says Sendak, he would never have become an artist, at least not the kind of artist he is.  Sendak's picture books acknowledge the terrors of childhood, how vicious and lonely it can be." (Brockes, 2011).  I also hope to be able to successfully convey similar emotions in my own books for children as l move through the final modules of my degree and subsequent graduation, with a view to appeal to both adults and children alike.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Britt, F., Arsenault, I, 2014, 'Jane, the Fox and Me', London:  Walker Books
Brockes, E., 2011, Maurice Sendak:  I refuse to lie to children', [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/oct/02/maurice-sendak-interview [Accessed 13 June 2016]
Kim, P., Sanchez, S., 2014, 'Here l am', London:  Curious Fox
Lawson, J, Smith, S., 2016, 'Footpath Flowers', London:  Walker Books
Lehman, B., 2007, 'Rainstorm', New York:  Houghton Mifflin Company Boston
Levine, E, Nelson, K., 2002, 'Henry's Freedom Box', New York:  Scholastic Press
Tan, S., 2014, 'The Arrival', Sydney:  Lothian Books
Villa, A, 2013, 'Flood', London:  Curious Fox
Wiesner, D., 1990, 'Hurricane', New York:  Clarion Books