Kiefer+1

Kiefer, B, (2008). Reading The Art of the Picture book. In Flood & Lapp (Ed.), //Handbook of Research on Teaching Literacy// //Through the Communicative and Visual Arts// (Vol. 2, pp. 375-379). New York: Lawrence Erlbaum.

The article defines a picture book and the different strategies employed in understanding a picture book. The article takes an interdisciplinary approach to analyzing the picture books by drawing from different disciplines such as semiotics, aesthetics, linguistics, anthropology, art history, and psychology. Several theorists such as Rosenblatt's transactional theory and Elliot Eisner's aesthetic representation are described in the article to help teachers understand the rationale in using picture books for instructional and curricular practices. The article also compares and contrasts the two different interpretations of viewing a picture book using semiotics and art. Semioticians look at the placement of the objects and positioning of shapes etc whereas, artists consider eye movement and the emotional appeal a picture creates in the reader's mind. Another important dimension explored in this article is the incidental learning that happens in young children while reading the picture book. a. Dilemmas in Reading and Art Visual comprehension precedes linguistic abilities in a child and children make connections based on what they see before they begin reading words. What is a Picture book? According to Bader, picture book is "text, illustration, total design; an iten of manufacture and commercial product; a social, cultural, historical document; and foremost an experience for a child. As an art form it hinges on the interdependence of pictures and words, on the simultaneous display of two facing pages, and on the drama of the turning page" (quoted in Kiefer, p. 375). Perspectives from Semiotic Theory Semiotics enables readers to decipher is signs as portrayed in picture books. It also helps children understand the meaning signs convey in a particular story or book. The different geometrical shapes employed in the picture book along with the positioning of the images to create a specialized effect falls under semiotics. For example, in the book, //Where the Wild Things Are,// the different capillarity signifies the characters state of mind. The more the capillaries, the intense the character's instability. Another semiologist, Nodelman, provided "a thoroughly developed scheme for how pictures provide information about stoories" (Kiefer, year, p. 376). He further explained how pictures can be surreal, impressionistic, stylistic (both national and individual). His research finding on how the mismatch between the pictures and words and vice versa creates irony in the story is interesting to a picture book researcher. Drawing on M.A.K. Halliday's functional grammar, Kiefer thinks that children who read picture books tend to seek multimodal representation instead of linear modality. A juxtaposition of words and pictures is today’s children’s' choice of picture books. Grammar can also be applied to images and there are three branches - representational/ideational structures, interactive, interpersonal, and compositional/textual. 1. Representational - shows events (concrete, verbal, timeline, and symbolic images) 2. Interaction - visual demands (social, attitude, power, and realism) 3. Composition - layout or composition (layout, framing, and spatial aspects on images) The positioning of the images also reveal the power relationships of the characters in the storybook. One drawback of this semiotic scheme is that the theory discusses the content of the images, but fails to identify the relationship between images and text. Nikaolajeva and Scott provide us with five different ways in which we can see the relationships between the text and images in a picture book. 1. symmetrical - two repetitive stories 2. complementary - completes the relationships between the images and words 3. expanding/enhancing - interdependency of visual image and text 4. counterpointing - two stories relying on each other 5. sylleptic - two or more stories independent of each other (the opposite of counterpointing) Another picturebook expert, Lawrence Sipe expanded this categorization and posited that the relationship between images and words are synergistic, i.e., two or more aspects work together to produce an advanced understanding that cannot be produced using one of the aspects. **Synergy is parallel to the interdisciplinary approach to looking at problems and strengths.** Hence, pictures and text must work together to help the readers transact the meaning of the story. Also, both the images and words are equally important in this transaction; no one modality is the highlight of the book. Aesthetic Readings of Picture books The semiotic underpinnings enable us to categorize the picture books, but fail to help us understand the joy of reading the same. The artistic appreciation in engaged reader is overlooked if we just use semiotics to analyze picture books. Another pivotal factor in examining a picture book is the reader response theory (RRT) that Rosenblatt propounded. According to Langer (quoted in Kiefer, p. 377), art is the primary source of symbolism and expression in a human being. Martantz expatiates on the aesthetics and describes the picture book as a beautiful artifact. Gombrich is of the opinion that visual representation plays a crucial role in evoking the reader's emotions and both visual and textual factors have to work synergistically to achieve good reader response. Doonan's categorization of the picture books (arrangement of geometrical shapes along with colour, medium, and literal and expressive elements used to convey meaning). Good examples of these features are books like "When Sheep Cannot Sleep" Nand "Where the Wild Things are". Kiefer believes that both the writer and the illustrator have to work hand in hand to help the reader transact the meaning of the picture book. Her three additional classifications of the artistic choices of the illustrator such as design choices, choices of historical or cultural convention, and technical choices help us decide which picture book is preferred and which one is not. Pictures help in the co construction of meaning and themes in a picture book. Finally, it calls for reader training to look at the picture books properly and achieve the desired effect. However, the child may be able to appreciate art and painting later in his/her life if trained to look at pictures early on in life. The synergy of pictures and text facilitates a better appreciation of picture books. Potentials in Reading the Art of the Picture books Hence, the different theoretical approaches applied to understand the value of reading picture books is important to keep in mind as teachers of literacy to young children. Semiotics, linguistics, aesthetics, and art are all important in understanding the layout, language, appeal, and emotional need that the child uses while reading the picture books that we chose for them. Reflection Given that there are different kinds of learners with different learning styles, today’s teachers have to look for innovative ways of accommodating these learners. Picture books are an excellent resource for visual, linguistic, auditory, and interpersonal intelligences (Gardner). It is important that children’s emotional needs are met and their imagination is valued. Picture books are an excellent source to hone one’s curiosity and enable them to acquire incidental learning through the reading or listening to the narratives in the books. A wonderful example of acquiring incidental knowledge is by reading the book, “Snow White and the Seven Drawfs”, an all time classic. Through reading the book, a child learns about vices, friendship, love, and human nature. Children can feel secure and try to resolve any harshness in their lives through conversing with the picture book characters. Character *Round or flat *How do characters affect the story? Place *How does the place influence the characters? *How does language help the readers understand the place? Time *Chronological *Psychological Point of View *First or third person narrative *Objective *Dramatic *How do characters affect the author’s point of view? Mood *Author’s mood *Reader’s mood *The role of language to evoke mood Symbol and extended metaphor Literature groups in action Literature groups facilitate literary insights and the authors used several books to elicit these insights in students. John Berg Saussure Barthes Moebius Nodelman M.A.K. Halliday Unsworth Hallberg Nikaolajeva and Scott Sipe Rosenblatt Langer Marantz Gombrich Doonan |||| [] John Berg Saussure Barthes Moebius Nodelman M.A.K. Halliday Unsworth Hallberg Nikaolajeva and Scott Sipe Rosenblatt Langer Marantz Gombrich Doonan A picture book seem to appeal to several different kinds of learners (Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences)
 * |||||||||||||||||||| # Character
 * 1) Place
 * 2) Time
 * 3) Point of View
 * 4) Mood
 * 5) Symbol and extended metaphor
 * Symbol and meaning *Cannotation *Life *Universal truths ||