posted on 30 Aug 2017

How to Find Gold by Viviane Schwarz

Crocodiles often appear as characters in picture books, but I have never seen one that looks quite so soft, happy and friendly as in this one. I tried to think how this was conveyed as such a strong characteristic and only realised after looking at the book a few times, that he keeps his mouth closed at all times and so never shows his teeth which gives him a cuddly persona throughout the story. The front cover shows him staring devotedly at a little girl who is smiling and waving her arms expansively. He is showing her a large hand drawn map with a red cross marking a spot (a well- known lexical shorthand for buried treasure) and the gold embossed title confirms that this is what the story is all about.

On the title page we can see that the relationship between the two of them might be more complicated as the girl, Anna is shown looking decidedly cross as they play cards together. But on the turn of the first page it is clear that they are very good friends and he is the one who is more cautious as he warns that going on an adventure to find gold ‘would be dangerous and difficult’. He therefore encourages her to plan carefully and consider such problems of how heavy it might be and where exactly they might find it. They also agree that they need to master ‘secret faces ‘so that no one will find it before them. Once they have decided together that it is located in France, the next problem is how on earth will they get there?

I love the way that they invent and construct the story of where to find the gold, as real children do when they play complicated imaginative games and the way that they are undeterred by the many challenges. They even make the task more dangerous and difficult when they decide that the gold is hidden under the sea as a result of a shipwreck.

I wonder whether Schwarz was influenced by the structure of Where the Wild Things Are, often described as the best ever classic picture book.  In a similar way to Maurice Sendak, Schwarz uses the effective device of making the illustrations leak across from the left hand side of the page across to the facing page as we go deeper into the book. In this way after several pages ‘Anna sailed into the great storm and they dived right in the middle’. She is still smiling and looking confident whilst the crocodile shuts his eyes and grimaces as they sink into the swirling water. This is a great way to immerse the reader in the story and as the next two pages have no words at all, we can luxuriate in the stunningly colourful illustrations that show the sumptuous sunken treasure on the sea bed. This includes plenty of gold coins plus all kinds of interesting bizarre items such as a suit of armour, a bicycle and a lion’s head!

 

Once the treasure is found spilling from a shipwreck and enveloped by a huge blue octopus, the illustrations move to the right hand side of the page with some the words to the left. They return to land and bury the treasure with the map and then return home safely by which time the illustrations are equally balanced with the written text for the end of the story. On the last but one page the two stand, hands on hips, both smiling and looking satisfied

I really like the overall up- beat and can- do atmosphere that shows assertive and daring characters. On her website, this award winning author illustrator describes her intentions:

‘I make things that encourage and facilitate creativity, courage, thoughtfulness and glee’.

It is interesting to read that apart from writing and illustrating books, Schwarz also writes an online autobiographical comic about her experience of managing life with anxiety and panic disorder. Her other talents include designing interactive installations and games which aim to encourage children to fully participate and make decisions. She has certainly succeeded in doing this with Anna and her gentle crocodile friend and I think that children would be encouraged to make maps and have many treasure seeking adventures as a result of reading this beautiful picture book that is indeed full of ‘glee’.

 Karen Argent

August 2017