This article talks about monsters in fiction, how they are used as a symbol of human vulnerability and negative moral views, actions or feelings. The author argues that these monster stories can prepare us for the challenges we may face in our lives, whether that be externally or battles with ourselves.
Monday, 25 September 2017
Sunday, 24 September 2017
Sad book
This book written by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Quentin Blake deals with the grief of losing a loved one. Rosen said that the idea for the book came about when he discussed the death of his son with a group of children when they spoke to him about it in a very "matter-of-fact" way. The book talks about grief and pretending to be happy when you're sad. The text and illustrations often portray contrasting narratives to communicate complex emotions, something that takes great understanding and communication between the writer and illustrator. Reviews from The Guardian and the Daily Telegraph point our some interesting reactions that tie into previous research I have carried out.
The Guardian said "Sad Book doesn't hide the darkness. It doesn't try to pretend that suffering and sadness are easy to bear. But it does at least show that it's okay to feel bad sometimes."
The Daily Telegraph questioned whether the book was appropriate for children which is the main problem faced by writers and illustrators of these kinds of books. interestingly they go onto to say that they think parents should use the book as a stimulus for discussion and would need to explain some of the ideas in the book to their children.
The Giving Tree
'The giving tree' by Shel Silverstein is an example of a book with an ambiguous story that can be interpreted in vastly different ways. The book has a lot of recognition and praise but has also been described as the most divisive book in children's literature. The book can been seen as depicting a positive relationship between the boy and the tree with the tree giving selflessly to the boy.
The book could be seen as a abusive relationship or a relationship between parent and child.
The book could be seen as a abusive relationship or a relationship between parent and child.
Wednesday, 20 September 2017
Recap
this post is to looks at my research so far and pick out the information that will be useful going forward and to link it to my chosen subject. This process should help me to narrow down my chosen area of research and get closer to my essay question. the more I look back at my research I am being drawn towards children's books that have deal with gritty and realistic subject matter. there have been a number of recent studies suggesting traditional children's books don't have the influence we think they do. I looked at an article suggesting that by not including negative emotions and reactions in children's books we stop them from understanding and dealing with them in a healthy way. We all feel anger and jealousy at some point but by leaving them out of children's education we can make them feel like they are the only ones feeling that way leading to shame, secretiveness and insecurity.
http://ierg.ca/about-us/some-ideas-foundational-to-our-work/fantasy-and-reality-in-childrens-stories/
Another article I looked at pointed a recent study that suggests children a drawn more towards factual reading than adults. That when they are being told stories by an figure of authority they are trying do discover ne information to inform their learning and they use their imagination through play to make sense of the information they have gathered.
"If stories are a form of input, imagination and pretence may be mechanisms for elaboration and assimilation."
This could feed into stories with more complex realistic subjects and ambiguous endings, these stories can act as the start of a process not the end. If these findings are correct we should use stories to trigger a thought process and ask questions more than dictate answers. This could encourage children to develop awareness of themselves and an understanding of real world scenarios.
http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2015/10/19/449865847/children-want-factual-stories-versus-fantasy-more-often-than-adults
this next article talks about the opinions of Anne Fine. Anne Fine is a writer that is best known fro her children's books. This is a different perspective on more realistic and ambiguous stories as she feels they offer little hope for the protagonist. She feels that realism may have gone too far and that we should be helping them to develop their aspirations. I don't think her opinion fully takes into account recent findings but it does give some good reasons for exercising caution with when dealing with realistic darker subject matter. I these subjects are not dealt with very carefully or if a child's education becomes saturated with troubling facts about the world it could have negative effects. Dealing with these subjects in a appropriate and beneficial way must be done with a great deal of skill or understanding.
http://www.jackiekemp.scot/index.php/poems/49-articles/arts/152-anne-fine-deplores-gritty-realism-of-modern-childrens-books
this next article talks the about the problems with or even the inability of fiction to influence moral codes successfully or at least in a predictable way. The article talks about fiction being a seed that may grow into something more or may not, that we cannot control how the information is received or how it is interpreted. Again this seems to back up the idea of using children's fiction as a starting point, a spark that can be moulded and deciphered through play and imagination. We may not have as much control over our message as we would like but that does not mean we cannot make work that encourages children to address important subjects and develop their own individual understanding.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/08/moral-fiction/304128/
I have found a few articles that talk about the role of illustrations in children's books, this varies from illustrator, some are just simply reiterating the words of the text but others add context and emotion the narrative through landscape and character. Some can even tell a story that seems entirely separate from the text, the two combining to complete the narrative. I have read interviews with illustrators that stress the importance of drawing what isn't there not what is. In this way illustrators can influence the messages within the story through things as simple as facial expressions, to do this the illustrator needs to have an in depth understanding of the meaning of the narrative and what it is trying to say.
http://ierg.ca/about-us/some-ideas-foundational-to-our-work/fantasy-and-reality-in-childrens-stories/
Another article I looked at pointed a recent study that suggests children a drawn more towards factual reading than adults. That when they are being told stories by an figure of authority they are trying do discover ne information to inform their learning and they use their imagination through play to make sense of the information they have gathered.
"If stories are a form of input, imagination and pretence may be mechanisms for elaboration and assimilation."
This could feed into stories with more complex realistic subjects and ambiguous endings, these stories can act as the start of a process not the end. If these findings are correct we should use stories to trigger a thought process and ask questions more than dictate answers. This could encourage children to develop awareness of themselves and an understanding of real world scenarios.
http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2015/10/19/449865847/children-want-factual-stories-versus-fantasy-more-often-than-adults
this next article talks about the opinions of Anne Fine. Anne Fine is a writer that is best known fro her children's books. This is a different perspective on more realistic and ambiguous stories as she feels they offer little hope for the protagonist. She feels that realism may have gone too far and that we should be helping them to develop their aspirations. I don't think her opinion fully takes into account recent findings but it does give some good reasons for exercising caution with when dealing with realistic darker subject matter. I these subjects are not dealt with very carefully or if a child's education becomes saturated with troubling facts about the world it could have negative effects. Dealing with these subjects in a appropriate and beneficial way must be done with a great deal of skill or understanding.
http://www.jackiekemp.scot/index.php/poems/49-articles/arts/152-anne-fine-deplores-gritty-realism-of-modern-childrens-books
this next article talks the about the problems with or even the inability of fiction to influence moral codes successfully or at least in a predictable way. The article talks about fiction being a seed that may grow into something more or may not, that we cannot control how the information is received or how it is interpreted. Again this seems to back up the idea of using children's fiction as a starting point, a spark that can be moulded and deciphered through play and imagination. We may not have as much control over our message as we would like but that does not mean we cannot make work that encourages children to address important subjects and develop their own individual understanding.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/08/moral-fiction/304128/
I have found a few articles that talk about the role of illustrations in children's books, this varies from illustrator, some are just simply reiterating the words of the text but others add context and emotion the narrative through landscape and character. Some can even tell a story that seems entirely separate from the text, the two combining to complete the narrative. I have read interviews with illustrators that stress the importance of drawing what isn't there not what is. In this way illustrators can influence the messages within the story through things as simple as facial expressions, to do this the illustrator needs to have an in depth understanding of the meaning of the narrative and what it is trying to say.
Monday, 11 September 2017
animals in fiction
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/sep/01/only-childrens-books-with-humans-have-moral-impact-study-finds
These articles look at studies showing that the use of animals to promote moral values does not work as well as using humans. If the reader sees the character as an animal they are unlikely to learn moral values, even anthropomorphised animals are seen as more animal than human by the majority of children reading the books.
These articles look at studies showing that the use of animals to promote moral values does not work as well as using humans. If the reader sees the character as an animal they are unlikely to learn moral values, even anthropomorphised animals are seen as more animal than human by the majority of children reading the books.
Questions?
Is it possible to successfully write and illustrate children's fiction without falling into the pitfalls highlighted in recent studies such as the 'just world fallacy'?
Is it possible to write and illustrate children's fiction that presents a balanced and accurate world view that is appropriate for the age group and achieves its goals?
Can we know that our illustrations are received and interpreted the way we intended? Should our illustrations aim to be definitive or should the act as a catalyst for individual personal development?
dilemma
All of my research so far falls into two distinct categories. One is based on how fiction influences our beliefs and has impacted on society. I have really enjoyed researching this subject but have had trouble finding studies related directly to illustration. I would like to illustrate children's books so fiction and narratives are very much related to my practice but I would like to research a subject that can inform my illustrations rather than the subjects I base my work on. The other side of my research has been based on how illustrations or images in general influence us, why they are useful and how they can be used. So far my problem with this has been that the majority of studies and professionals writing about this have been concentrating on graphic design and marketing. I have just bought a book that could be very useful as a way to bridge the gap between these two areas of research (Visualisation in Popular Fiction 1860-1960). I am hoping that this book can provide me with new avenues of research that connect illustration and narrative and what can be achieved by using the two together effectively.
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