posted on 09 Nov 2017

The poetry of picture books

I have been thinking about what makes some picture books more memorable than others beyond an initial positive aesthetic response. I know what I like and I think that I have quite wide ranging tastes, but would young children necessarily respond to the ones that I love? What part do the words play in capturing their attention or is it mostly about whether they tune into a particular artistic style? Is the content of the book the most important part in capturing their attention in terms of subject and plot? Is part of a book's magic to do with where and when they are first experienced and whether the adult is reading with sufficient enthusiasm?

An opportunity for my first very unscientific experiment came the other evening when I was reading a selection of my picture books to my three year old granddaughter, Naomi. She had never seen any of them before and as we snuggled up in bed together beside a low light, I explained that I was going to read her one of the stories that her mummy had loved when she was a little girl, Mr Rabbit and the Lovely Present by Catherine Zolotow , illustrated by Maurice Sendak. I have always rated this delightful picture book, perhaps due to happy memories and was interested to see if she would pick up on my warm nostalgic feelings. After only three pages it seemed that she was captivated because she interrupted my reading to say 'I really like this story, please can I keep it'? The illustrations are very subtle and were quite difficult to see in the subdued light so I think that it might have been the rhythm and constant repetition in the text that did the trick:

'She likes red," said the little girl.

"Red," said Mr Rabbit. " You can’t give her red."

"Something red, maybe! "said the little girl.

"Oh something red," said Mr Rabbit.

"What is red?" said the little girl

They go on in this way through the different colours, discussing possible options and manage together to make a lovely basket of fruit as the lovely present for her mother. Naomi seemed to be entranced at every stage of the story and when we reached the final page where Mr Rabbit leaves the girl, she asked me to read it again and of course I did, with her beginning to join in.

The next day I tried reading another all-time favourite of mine, So Much by Trish Cooke, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury to a group of Reception Class children. It was a wonderful experience for me to  be able to read this picture book classic to children who had evidently never seen or heard the story before ( how could that be right)? On the other hand - what a huge responsibility to convey its specialness because I was only making a short visit. I needn't have worried because they were hooked as soon as they recognised the repetitive structure and the opportunities to join in as more and more family members press the doorbell ' Ding Dong' and let the baby know that they all love him ' So Much.'

Next stop was a group of two, three and four year olds at a Pre School where I had been asked to read a selection of stories about animals. I wont bore you with the time I that I spent agonising over which picture books to choose from this hugely rich category. In the end I plumped for three with minimal text and dramatic illustrations. ' Owl Babies' by Martin Waddell was perfect because of the simple story about the three owls who panic when their mother flies off as this is an experience that all children in childcare settings can relate to. Like their parents, she of course comes back but the repeated refrain of the one less confident owl on each page, builds the tense atmosphere and always keeps their attention. The second story was ' Chicken Licken' by Michael Foreman, one of many authors who has interpreted this traditional cautionary tale. I had forgotten the pleasure of saying the rhyming words 'Henny Penny', ' Ducky Lucky' and 'Goosey Loosey'  out loud - funny and easy for young children to join in with and remember. The last one was 'The Tiger Prowls' by Seb Braun,  a rather lovely slim pop -up book that I have never used with children before. The way in which each brightly coloured animal at the centre of each page certainly kept them focussed but the words also cast a spell. The text included plenty of difficult words that were probably unfamiliar to all of the children but all the more important because of that:

Gentle, elegant, the giraffe is a

treetop nibbler, a cloud high grazer.

Pitching his way across the savannah,

like a ship adrift on the open plain.

I didn't need to explain the words because they were part of the poetry and integral to the atmosphere and pleasure of the picture book.

What have I learnt from all this? I have very much enjoyed the challenge of performing all these books and trying to make them come alive. It has also reinforced my conviction that sharing beautiful picture books should be a part of all children's cultural heritage. The carefully chosen words and the illustrations work together to cast their spell, but helping to make a book really memorable is one of the joys of spending time with the under- fives.

 

Karen Argent

November 2017