Childrens Picture Books Appeal Equally to Adults - Essay Example

Children’s picture books appeal equally to adults. Discuss “Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone arewanted in life. Plant nothing else….This is the principle on which I bring up my own children, and this is the principle on which I bring up these children. Stick to Facts, sir!” (Dickens 13) To which extent dependence on complete utilitarianism and facts can create havoc in an individual’s life, has been elucidated through Charles Dickens’ narrative with special focus on Thomas Gradgrind and Sissy’s life in the novel Hard Times. Facts are important to lead a secured and well guided life but the moment representation of those facts becomes utility oriented, especially in case of children, the ultimate outcome becomes quite damaging for them. An individual’s psychological construction remains highly tender during his childhood and under such situation the elements of fancy or fanciful and metaphorical presentation of facts can help a child to learn the basic lessons of life properly. If attempt is made to teach the lessons in a very realist manner then it might create a negative impact on the psychological equilibrium of a child. In this context, children’s picture books are of great help as those incorporate within their scope picturesque and fanciful representation of basic lessons of life. Thus, one of the most important qualities that a picture book artist must improvise is to represent the lessons of life to children in their ways and in this situation presence of a visual symmetry is highly important, “I think a successful picture book has to have a symmetry ... a visual symmetry, a total symmetry. When creating a picture book, perhaps the key word is ‘rhythm’ or ‘pace’. So the words and images have to flow through the book; they have to have pace; you have to have visual pace, a change of scale, of size and, for the complete article to have a sense of beginning, middle and end” (Salisbury 2). The metaphorical presentation in children’s picture books is another aspect that attracts a great deal of attention and at the same time also helps to a considerable extent in expanding the scope for children’s imagination. Fusion of such metaphorical presentation and visual symmetry creates a sense of aesthetic fulfillment that appeals both children and adults. On one hand, this aesthetic appeal provides adult psychology a kind of visual and mental relaxation so that they can enjoy an emotional outlet that is entirely different that that of mundane realities and on the other hand, turning pages of a children picture book reminds them of bright, golden days of childhood that all of us crave for. There is a common tendency among mature people that they consider children’s picture books a very amateur form of art and do not provide sufficient importance to the different layers of meaning that these actually present. A picture book artist draws inspiration for his creativity from daily life and represents the issues as well as problems of common existence through artistry. Thus, it is quite normal that an artistic work of this nature would naturally involve different layers of meaning within its scope. However, it does not essentially mean that the artist would only focus on lessons of his/her personal life; rather the artist’s impersonal experiences can also receive a great deal of attention through his artistry. In this context observation of Anthony Browne becomes highly relevant, “An idea for a book comes to me; sometimes it’s obvious to me where the idea’s come from but they all reflect my own interests and my own experiences – not necessarily personal experiences. Sometimes, if I’m writing about a dysfunctional family, it won’t necessarily be my own family – which I don’t think was dysfunctional – it will be families that I’m aware of” (Browne 4). Children’s picture book artists like Anthony Browne have unanimously agreed on this aspect that the relationship between words and pictures is the most important aspect that attracts a great deal of attention both from children and adults, “…the pictures can sometimes tell us what the words don’t tell us” (Browne 4). In case of children, the visual appeal provides a clear picture to them so that they can derive the necessary lessons of living a happy social life. In case of adults, the fusion of visual appeal and verbal application provides them with a scope to explore different layers of meaning that have been incorporated within the picture books. Citing examples from Beatrix Potter’s The Tales of Peter Rabbit & Benjamin Bunny, would help us to understand the appeal of children’s picture book both to adults and children. Narrative of the Peter Rabbit story starts with a third person narrative and it provides a clear impression to a reader as if someone else is describing the entire tale, “Once upon a time there were four Rabbits, and their names were – Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail and Peter. They lived with their Mother in a sand-bank, underneath root of a very big fir-tree” (Potter 1). Along with narration, the author has also presented us with picturesque description of the entire ambiance, where a child can see four little rabbits and a big rabbit. In the backdrop the forest and a huge tree provide clear impression of the perfection and harmony of family life. The next page shows visual description of the mother rabbit and her three children together. Verbal description provides one of the basic lessons of leading a healthy social life, “She told them to have fun. She told them to be good” (Potter 2). What the author actually tries to convey is that children must enjoy themselves but the modes of such enjoyment should not be such that it hampers lives and peace of others. An interesting thing of such picturesque description is that amidst such togetherness one rabbit (Peter) is separate and it immediately becomes clear through such description that Peter is different and he is always ready to enjoy charms of adventure (Potter 2). Despite his mother’s repeated warnings, he refuses to join his brothers to “gather berries” and steps in the garden of McGregor’s (Potter 3-4). Rest of the tale shows that how Peter has dragged himself into danger and finally learns certain very important lessons. The knowledge that Peter ultimately receives at the end of his adventure is universal and applies equally to both adults and children. The nature of an individual is developed during his childhood and unless these lessons are properly realized by children basic foundation of morality and other values cannot be properly cherished or realized. In case of adults particularly, they not only receive an emotional outlet to visit the world of childhood but at the same time realizes that unless their children are properly guided, they can get themselves into immense danger, because the world of McGregor’s is the metaphorical presentation of the crisis that surrounds children irrespective of social, cultural and time boundaries. Thus, it becomes clear from the discussion above that fusion of Vocabulary and visual appeal is the main issue makes children’s picture books a matter of attraction both for children and adults. Art is a universal medium that always has a universal appeal and in this context of discussion this very observation is equally applicable. Children receive the important lessons for leading their lives from the picture book and it also drives them into the world of fancy, which helps to a great extent in nurturing their creative faculty. In case of adults, apart from being a medium of emotional outlet, picture books help them to revitalize the essential values of life that often are ignored during course of a hectic and cutthroat competition. Works Cited Dickens, Charles. Hard times: a novel. Harvard University. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1854. Potter, Beatrix. The Tales of Peter Rabbit & Benjamin Bunny. California: Treasure Bay, Inc. 2001 Salisbury, Martin. “An Introduction to illustration”. Source: EA300 DVD 2: Children’s Literature. N.d. Read More