Final Project for Summer Semester- Picturebook

For any classmates who would like to see my picturebook, "Birds of a Feather", or read the analysis guide, here are those links:

"Birds of a Feather" Picture Book by Jared St. Martin Brown
Analysis Guide

Create a Picturebook (Week 8 Assignment)

Purpose- A Storybird Picturebook

My Storybird picturebook features the art of Nidhi Chanani.  I felt it was important to be consistent with my artwork choices, and there is no better way to do that than to stick with a single artist.  I found these images to be delightful and versatile.  The most effective images are found on page 3, in which we see a young woman chasing a will-o-the-wisp through a forest at night.  The woman is running but she appears happy, as if she is enjoying the thrill of discovery.  She is exhilarated.  This really takes the away the potential for negativity in interpreting the meaning of “secret” or “must discover,” which some may assume is about struggle.  In fact, smiling is used throughout the images.  On pages 1-3 the smiles provide a sense of joy.  On the final page we see a sense of contentment as she grins while looking toward the sky.  I am hoping that no one will assume that she has “arrived” at something final, but has merely discovered some secret that is just for her. 

Picturebook Review- Bink & Gollie

Nestled between the genre of picturebook and graphic novel, the Bink & Gollie tales by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee are geared toward young children and yet the artwork and unique storytelling make these books so interesting to adults.  This means they are perfect for those of us whose children require them to read a story aloud every single evening.  While Bink and Gollie entertain children with stories of friendship, community, and imagination, they transport the adults back to the type of world created by those master-craft comics of our youth such as Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes.  So far, the authors have released three books, but I will focus this review on the original, simply titled Bink & Gollie.

Characterization

The story is set in a world that is just slightly different from our own.  Two friends, whose relationship is rather sisterly, live at the top and bottom of tree just outside of town.  Bink, the younger one, lives at the bottom in a cute ramshackle cottage.  Like her hair and clothing, it is decorated haphazardly.  At the top of the tree lives the adolescent, Gollie, in a tree house that looks like it was designed by Frank Lloydd Wright.  Inside it is decorated with mid-century modern artwork and furniture.  Midway between the two, on a branch, is a park bench where they sometimes meet, perhaps symbolically, in the middle.  At the bottom tree, they share a mailbox.  In this world, neither Bink nor Gollie seem to have parents.

Bink is all of the unbridled passion of childhood.  She is obsessed with food, and she does not regulate her emotions.  If she is lonely, she tries to do something about it.  If she upset, she expresses that without shame.  She is quite simple… however, according the authors, she has dreams about Andy Warhol.

Gollie, on the other hand, is slightly more complicated.  She exists in that weird place in which older children find themselves, between adulthood and childhood.  As her short haircut indicates, she is attempting to look grown up, however the tiny bow shows that she still retains some juvenile qualities.  As we see in Gollie, throughout the book she tries to appear mature and wise, but inside she is attracted to kid’s stuff.  When she is alone we may find her sitting and reading like an adult, and other times she find her playing a game of pretend.  This blend seems to explain her attachment to the youthful Bink.  Around her, Gollie can both exercise her adulthood by providing sisterly guidance, while indulging her childhood by taking Bink to the fair or sharing a giant stack of pancakes.

Young children are likely to connect to both characters.  They can identify with Bink’s behavior while taking comfort in the older sister appeal of Gollie.  I imagine that many children will connect with both characters as they resolve conflicts and solve problems.

Images

The images, by Tony Fucile, are perfection.  There is a sort of minimalistic clutter to each image.  Fucile incorporates incredible detail in ink sketches, yet only colors certain elements in each.  This gives the reader an impression of a very busy world, while showing us that only certain elements in each image matter to the story.  Some of the pages are arranged like comic book panels, with white gutters framing the pictures.  Others are full page spreads which allow the reader to dive into this world. 

At least half of the story comes from the pictures.  In fact, the authors do not spend any time at all explaining the setting or the characters inner thoughts and feelings.  That must be inferred from the pictures.  Everything from fashion sense, to facial expressions, to body language in the images keep the readers informed about each character. 

Text

The text also employs this sort of complex minimalism.  The story is told primarily through snippets of dialogue.  Notice that every line is surrounded by quotation marks.  Sometimes we are told who is speaking, and other times we must use the picture to infer.  The text hovers inside each picture, almost like a comic dialogue bubble, only the does not exist.  As a writer myself, I find myself delighting as much in which parts of the story are not included as much as those that are.  The stories can span only a few hours, or even an entire season, and the text provides no explanation.  However, the tension between the modes of text and image are so balanced, that the reader can infer everything important.  This keeps the story moving, and forces the reader to participate in the creation of Bink and Gollie’s world.

I don’t think I could like a picturebook more than this.

Bink & Gollie Official Website