CHOOSING AND USING PICTURE BOOKS by Penny Dolan

Today is the first of May, a date with a sense of fun and jollity about it, but I am not dancing about in green ribbons or hurrying my dew-washed face home. I am busy thinking about the particular joy that comes from choosing picture books, particularly for a specific purpose: my next Under Five’s Story-time in my local library. I brought a few titles home with me, but which will be the best to use?

                                 

Books for this audience have to be ‘strong’ enough to take their turn among the attractions – if not for you – of nursery songs, noisy instruments, ‘sleepy bunnies’ and a bubble machine. So I will go through my selected titles well before the session, trying each one out for its ‘read-aloud’ qualities, and these are what I will try to remember:

THE WORDS:

The text has to work ‘in the mouth’ and the phrasing flow as well as when I first glanced through it after taking it from the library book box.

I like to be aware of the ‘voice’ of the book itself: how it sounds, what it is about and how it resolves so that I am comfortable and confident reading it aloud. I listen out for the rhythms within the narrative: the writer’s repeated words, phrasing and any assonance or rhyming pattern they might use. Like stones smoothed by the waves, the words within the best picture books were rolled around by repeated readings and drafts before they arrived on the page. Although rhyming texts are said to be less favoured by publishers because of translation difficulties, I enjoy reading out stories where there is a strong sense of word-play, musicality and enjoyable literary babbling.

                                

THE SUBJECT:

Does the idea of a book inspire interest, even at this very young level? Are the set of books varied enough? Personally I would prefer my next read-aloud to not to be another book about not knowing which animal family you belong to or which home you have, or about angry red feelings, or yet another book about poo, even though these titles might be just right for some people and places.

My current selection includes the following: a girl-mouse training her new kitten, a mole in a hole challenged by a goat; a pet-less flat where a child’s printed-packet pets cause havoc; a bear who didn’t eat the honey wanting to know who did; a rocking horse granted wishes by a sparkly unicorn, and a digger that digs itself in too deep.

And before I begin, I have to decide if the book needs to be given a context, or start with a short bit of personal storytelling - ‘I like this book because it’s about . . . and I remember . . .’ and so on, to make the book more understandable.

                                    

THE ‘JOURNEY’:

My reading underlines and emphasise the narrative journey of the picture book, showing the way that the words and illustrations work together or alongside each other. I do this for the children, for myself and also, I hope, for any adults who might not feel comfortable when reading picture books to children yet.

I need to be aware of the best speed for the page-turns. Is this spread a simple repetition of an idea, or a busy expansion, offering many mini-stages of the story in one go? Is this a slow-going page or a steady building-up page? And where and what and when is the turning point, the big ‘jump” spread that will need extra dramatic emphasis? Often, with a limited word-count, I will have to use my voice to add emotional tone to the reading, or indicate that ‘this’ page is a significant page or moment of resolution within the tale. Small post-it notes make good page markers for when one is also consciousness of coping with fifty or more listeners.

During the test-reads, I’ll put aside any books where the twist shows the title is intended for an older child. While publishers like witty ideas, some jokes don’t fit easily or translate well for the under-fives audience. They require a wider knowledge or experience to work. On the other hand, there are what I think of as ‘family books’: those iconic titles that are so popular with the grown-ups that young listeners seem to absorb the greater atmosphere, and media companies welcome. Hello, Mog!

                                                                                                            

THE ART WORK AND TYPOGRAPHY:

A book is more than some printing and some pictures on some pages. Though the illustrations are what attract the eye, the whole layout of a book matters to me, too, and for practical reasons. I'd add that a hardback cover makes the pages much easier to display in such a group setting and the paper quality usually makes the pages easier for turning without fumbling for the essential next page.

I will be holding the chosen book in an outward-facing direction to make the pages clear and visible to the audience, although the font and size also need to be clear and readable to me as I view the pages at a slight slant from above.

This certainly doesn’t mean a single standard layout or a Ladybird books typeface. A playful use of capitals, punctuation, exclamation points, ‘noise’ words and ‘jokes’ on the pages will be fine, as long as the words are large enough to be easy to read. I’d like the print to and stand out clearly from any background colours too: no light-grey lettering on mouse-brown backgrounds, as an example? Not everyone, even young children, has perfect eyesight.

                                                 

Besides, how does the chosen book look from a distance? Although there’s the special rug on the library floor and beanbags, many small children are wary about stepping too far from ‘their’ own lap, and many grown-ups do prefer chairs. All of which means that most of my audience, small and larger, will be a metre and more away, so the easier the page is to see the better.

In any case, the best illustrations, as well as having a certain simplicity, make good use of colour and space on the page, making them easy to describe and talk about. ‘I really like the way this illustrator has used these paint marks to show . . .’

I also need to know how the artist’s illustrations work. Are the pictures direct interpretations of the narrative text, or do they show a contrasting dynamic? Is the artist painting real life or indicating a slip between a real world and an imaginary scenario that I should draw attention to? Does the visual viewpoint change dramatically – from as high as a drone image to low down or underneath – taking the attention to a scene that needs some light explaining? Or does something happen in an illustration that isn’t even mentioned in the words, though it does fit with the story? For example, should I point out that, on the last page, Maisy's newly trained and obedient kitten has crept up and is sleeping on her bed? The answer is a loud ‘Of course!’ which I know, because I learned how this book works first.

                     

AND FINALLY

As I write this post, I’m aware that my account might sound a little extreme and time-wearying, so I have to add that I’ve been reading to young children for decades. By now, the whole process flickers swiftly past for each book and, besides, I enjoy both the activity and the end result. I wonder which titles I'll finally choose?

Besides, I have to add that writing this ABBA post has reminded me to appreciate just how much work and time and skill goes into creating a really good picture book!

Wishing you all a very happy May Day.

Penny Dolan