![\"\"](\"http:\/\/melissa.depperfamily.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/WritingwithPictures.jpg\" "\\"WritingwithPictures\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nWriting with Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Picture Books, by Uri Shulevitz<\/strong> Second Sight: An Editor’s Talks on Writing, Revising, and Publishing Books for Children and Young Adults, by Cheryl Klein<\/strong><\/p>\n This collection of editor Cheryl Klein’s talks and blog posts on writing and shaping children’s books focuses mainly on children’s novels, but there’s one great chapter on picture books, which has a lot to say about audience, crafting text, planning illustrations, and the narrative arc. <\/p>\n The Picture Book Primer: Understanding and Using Picture Books, by Denise Matulka<\/strong> Illustrating Children’s Picture Books, by Steven Withrow and Lesley Breen Withrow<\/strong> From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children’s Books, by Kathleen T Horning<\/strong> A Family of Readers: The Book Lover’s Guide to Children’s and Young Adult Literature, by Roger Sutton and Martha V Parravano<\/strong> Picture This: How Pictures Work, by Molly Bang<\/strong> So there’s my list. I’ve had a great couple of weeks looking at all these books again. What books have you learned from about picture books? <\/p>\n *PS: Wondering what’s on our working list of Caldecott hopefuls? Here’s what it looks like<\/a>…at the moment!<\/p>\n *PPS November 2012: If you’re coming to this post in 2012, here’s some of our favorites this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the (many) fun things I get to do at my job is to help present a series of “Caldecott Hopefuls” presentations to our staff each fall. This project grew out of an online poll our Digital Services librarians … Continue reading
\nThis is a gem, despite the obsolete chapters on color-separation and prepress. Uri Shulevitz drew hundreds of doodles and cartoons to illustrate his points. I know I will return to his chapters on sequence, action, story, space, and composition many times. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nThis is a no-frills but thorough encyclopedia that covers everything from the parts of a picture book to media, layout & design. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nWriting With Pictures<\/em> and How Pictures Work<\/em> go deeper into composition and story, but this book is great for its dozens of interviews with illustrators, editors, designers, & critics (from around the world), and for all the full-color illustrations from published books and personal projects. The chapter on digital illustration is an excellent primer for those who’d like to know more about how artists create with the computer. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nKT Horning’s classic book on reviewing children’s books includes a chapter on picture books, discussing text (structure, language, predictability, pace), pictures (visual elements, composition), media, and style. Don’t miss her exploration the text of Runaway Bunny<\/em> or the art in Goodnight Moon.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nI can’t do this one justice in a couple sentences. Get this book, and read the entire 60-page “Picture Books” section about a dozen times. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nIf you are looking for a place to start to understand the elements of composition, this is a must-read. Molly Bang uses cut-paper collages to show the structural principles of illustration she has discovered in the course of her own study. Refreshingly accessible. <\/p>\n