I still read PBs like I did when I was a kid (the first time through,
I only look at the illustrations, then I go back and read the text).
For a long time I thought it was something I probably shouldn’t admit in
public, especially to other writers and illustrators in the kidlit
world. I was embarrassed. Who wants to admit that they don’t read
picture books like an adult?
Then I realized that the way I read picture books is the way that
most kids read picture books. Since I’m creating PBs for children, it’s
good to remember how to read them like a child. As a kid, I didn’t read
the text because I couldn’t read, and because someone else was supposed
to read the book to me. It wasn’t my job to read the text. (I realize
some kids read at a very young age, but picture books are often read to
children at home, at the library, or at school.)
Realizing why I was reading PBs the way I was has made a HUGE impact
on the way that I think about writing and illustrating picture books.
So what did I learn?
Writing Picture Books: The text is for the adults to read. I’ve read
many articles about the type of language needed for picture books and
how every word has to count (all of which is true). It helps me to also
remember that adults will be reading the text. They are your audience
for the words you choose. You can make them funny, lyrical, concise,
emotional, descriptive, thoughtful, or all of the above. Think about
what you would want to read to a room full of kids at a library, a child
home sick, or two rambunctious four-year-olds that don’t want to go to
sleep. Then start writing. Write an adventure that the parents will want
to go on with their children (over, and over, and over again, because
PBs are repeat reads).
Illustrating Picture Books: The art is for the child to read. If
you’ve ever sat with a child and read them a picture book, you know that
they really examine the pictures. They’re the first ones to find hidden
clues. They’ll flip the pages back and forth to look at a favorite
character again and again, without caring that the story isn’t finished
yet. This is the audience for the pictures you create. Make the
characters interesting, give them emotions that the child can read and
relate to, even if they can’t read the words. Make the art colorful,
detailed and specific so that a child will fall in love with it, look at
it over and over again, and not mistake it for any of the other picture
books she reads.
That is why I’m no longer embarrassed to say that I read picture
books the same way I did when I was little. Long live childhood; long
live picture books
How do you read picture books? I’d love it if you weighed in here or on
my Facebook page about how you read PBs becausxe I’m curious to know if I’m the only one that still “reads the art” before reading the text.