Seeing Sense by Jake Hope, reviewed by Dawn Finch

 

First the blurb...

The burgeoning field of visual literacy can be universally understood across a wide variety of cultural backgrounds, regardless of traditional literacy levels. A key tool for navigating digital devices, there is often an antipathy surrounding visual literacy borne out of stigma and at times, intimidation. At a point when funding for public libraries in the UK is in decline, Powerful Pictures will include new research and bring together best practice from different organisations and institutions from a national and global perspective. This book will showcase the role of visual literacy as a tool for promoting reading, helping to raise understanding and awareness among librarians and education practitioners and promoting aspiration and achievement among the children and young people they work with.

I would not normally use my space here to review books, especially not academic books that are ostensibly pitched to information and educational professionals, but after reading this book it felt essential to me to share it with an audience of authors.

As writers and illustrators, the concept of visual literacy is not new to us, but it is often difficult to put into words why it is so important to our work. The idea that readers (both developing and established) use visuals to interpret stories and understand them is ingrained in what we do, but to fully understand visual literacy as a distinct concept takes a deeper examination, and this is exactly what Hope has done with Seeing Sense.

Elements of visual literacy are all around us (think signposts and pictographic instructions) but when we expand our understanding of that we, as authors, can begin to incorporate a greater level of visual communication in our work that breaks down the barriers of language and culture. For both established and new illustrators and writers, Hope’s book lays out the concept of visual literacy in a way that is not only approachable but useful and fascinating.

So many big names in the world of children’s books have contributed to this book with both anecdotes and tips that it feels like taking advice directly from the very best people in the business. From the foreword by Philip Pullman to dozens of illustrators and writers representing almost every field of children’s books you’d care to mention! Hope is hugely knowledgeable (with a masters in children's literature and over two decades working in the field) and has worked with everyone who matters in children’s books and literacy. Many of us know Hope and have worked with him and you can recognise him and his passion for literacy in this book. He has a writing style that draws you in and never feels patronising or alienating.

The chapters of this book cover everything from what exactly we mean when we’re talking about visual literacy, to a brilliantly handy guide to terminology, and on through use and application via a series of case studies that put the subject into context. Children’s authors will find chapters on reader development, insights into the processes that shape visual narratives, and the importance of visual representation to build inclusivity particularly relevant. Everything here is directly useful to the work of the children’s illustrator and writer. The chapter examining the structure and processes of the big awards for children’s book illustration is also a must-read for anyone working in the field.

Hope wrote this book as “a tool for libraries, learning and reader development”, but with my author hat on I can’t help feeling that this really is an essential book for the bookshelves of anyone engaged in the process of producing books for young readers.

Yes, on the surface it is expensive, as are most academic books. At £39.95 this does feel like an eyewatering price right now, but as this one is absolutely for your work it can fit into the deductible category as being relevant to your trading activities. I feel that this would be a hugely useful addition to your reference shelves as it would not only give you a greater understanding of visual literacy, but it could better sculpt how you use it and even give your work more power and deeper meaning.

Dawn Finch is an author and librarian and the current chair of the Children’s Writers and Illustrators Group (CWIG) and a trustee of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP).

Seeing Sense by Jake Hope is published by Facet Publishing – the publishing arm of CILIP

£39.95 to non-members (£31.96 for members)

This book is an unbiased, unsponsored review and represents the reviewer’s honest personal opinions.