Art in contemporary picturebooks for children

Abstract

This dissertation is intended to look into and analyse local and foreign contemporary picturebooks, in relation to exploring the art elements which deliver the message to readers. My aim is to examine the relation between the visual and the verbal in this delivery to the audience, and also how young children are exposed to art through these picturebooks. The main question is that of how children learn to read through the pictures in picturebooks, with direct relation to the impact of the pictures in acquiring language. This relates directly to aspects of style, format and design which are made use of in these art forms. This research is done with reference to various reference books concerning picturebooks and the way they work, as well as recent and contemporary articles by various authors. The research is also carried out through interviews with various book illustrators, writers, a book designer, and also a publisher, in order to get a panoramic view of what criteria the picturebook entails in order to be effective in the above mentioned manner. This thesis illustrates that the play between pictures and words in picturebooks does indeed contribute to the child reader's exposure to art at the early stages, as well as an introduction to a visual and verbal literacy.