Exploring books for children: words and pictures

Many people have fond memories of the stories they encountered in childhood, perhaps especially of those wonderful picture books and illustrated tales which fired our young imaginations and transported us to magical worlds. To an adult’s eye, some picture books may seem remarkably simple, even oversimplified. However, in this free course, Exploring books for children: words and pictures, you will learn how children’s books use words and pictures together in remarkably sophisticated ways to communicate both to young and older readers, drawing on examples from the classics, such as Beatrix Potter’s Tales of Peter Rabbit, and from contemporary children’s authors such as Anthony Browne, author of Gorilla.

• Introduction
• Learning outcomes
• 1 Words and pictures in children’s fiction through the ages
• 1 Words and pictures in children’s fiction through the ages
• 2 Making sense of pictures
• 2 Making sense of pictures
• 3 Combining words and pictures
• 3 Combining words and pictures
• 4 Book design and intended readership
• 4 Book design and intended readership
• 4.1 Appealing to different age groups
• 4.2 Clues for readers of different ages and genders
• 4.3 Marketing to different readerships
• 5 Illustration
• 5 Illustration
• 6 Illustration as interpretation: the example of Alice
• 6 Illustration as interpretation: the example of Alice
• 6.1 Interpreting Alice
• 7 Analysing images: composition and symbolism
• 7 Analysing images: composition and symbolism
• 7.1 Decoding pictures
• 8 An authorstrator comments on his craft
• 8 An authorstrator comments on his craft
• Conclusion
• References
• Acknowledgements