G1 Review: Show & Tell: Exploring the Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Evans, Dilys. 2008. SHOW & TELLL: EXPLORING THE FINE ART OF CHILDREN’S BOOK ILLUSTRATION. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN: 0670878553

In this well-designed, very readable book, Dilys Evans chronicles the backgrounds, inspirations, and artistic processes of 12 children’s book illustrators. Her Author’s Note sets the tone for her work by comparing prehistoric cave painting with children’s book illustration. Each reflects an artist’s need to “show and tell (a) story” (Evans, 1). From the desire to share a story, her introduction moves on to a definition of fine art and to a brief, clear discussion of how children’s book illustrations conform to that definition. She then sets her sights on her goal and motivation for this book: she wants to explore different artists from different backgrounds who use different styles to help children—and presumably adults—to “discover the power of their own imaginations” (Evans, 2).

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Evans chose 12 illustrators to discuss, and this is one of the strengths of her book. With the widespread talent available to her, she had the unenviable task of limiting her scope to those whose work she enjoys. This concept, outlined in her note at the beginning of the book, frees her from having to justify or contextualize her choices. She can focus on the illustrator and the person’s work without and how it affected her, resulting in a more personal and manageable undertaking. A huge “all star” book—or “best of” book, as she mentions in the introduction—would have been possible, as would an academic study. Each of these, however, would have compartmentalized the topic and raised different sorts of expectations among her audience.

Evans devotes a chapter of 10-12 pages to each of her 12 artists. Each chapter heading consists of a small framed picture of a blank two-page spread, with the artist’s name in a red sans serif font. Centered beneath each name is a short catchphrase (catchword?) that captures some aspect of the artist. Completing the simple yet memorable package, each heading also contains either a self-portrait or noteworthy character generated by the artist. These headings build schema for her audience and reflect the “power” of illustration alluded to in the introduction. Readers have a decent idea what to expect before beginning the chapter.

Each chapter features clear and concise writing readily understandable to an audience of middle school students and older people and generally begins with biographical or personal information related to the artists’ catchphrases. “Oh, No!” “What if?” and “Imagine That” are examples of this technique that binds the individual chapters. Her chapter openings are strong and connect to the subtitles, and, after relating details about the authors’ lives and art, she ends with a different take on the same theme. Overall, the text reads more like a magazine article accessible to those interested in the topic, with lively writing that does not get bogged down in excessive detail. Readers learn the important points and move on, better educated on the lives and the careers of the illustrators.

Her chapter layouts are cleverly done. Usually, the first open two-page spread is adorned with only the title image, affording her the opportunity to set her sights on the author’s background information. From the third page onward, she begins discussing the illustrator’s art, with smaller images (often book covers) in the margins and larger images dominating the spread. This practice enables her to stuff the pages with artwork and give readers a better understanding of the artists’ careers and styles. The text for the artwork usually begins on the same spread as the images, cutting down on a lot of unnecessary page turning and allowing the reader to concentrate on the marriage of text and image along the same lines as children’s books. That the text has ample white space between lines also contributes to the ease of reading.

With her narrow focus on illustrators who work is important to her, lucid language, and use of illustrative and beautiful artwork, Evans achieves her goal of using the work of these artists “to find a universal language to talk about art on the page…and use it to explore the many other wonderful books that are on our shelves” (Evans, 2). A book such as this only increases the interest and anticipation in the next 12 illustrators she chooses to explore.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
--"This attractive title will be a boon for librarians, teachers, students, and anyone else who wants to learn to look at and talk about the art in children’s books." (BOOKLIST, September 2008)
--"The strength of this book lies in the depth of the author's understanding regarding how decisions about formal qualities and design affect narrative and in her ability to articulate their effectiveness for the layperson." (SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, May 2008)
--"Teenaged artists have much to learn from Evans's thoughtful analyses, and even the casual reader will experience these authors on a different level after reading. In addition to being a strong purchase for public and high school, it is a must-have for art school libraries." (VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES, June 2008)

CONNECTIONS
--This book would very effective for art teachers, or even English teachers, to use with students throughout middle and high school, if only for the sake of its clear, illustrative biographies and ideas on creating art.
--Other titles on creating and illustrating children’s books:
CHILDREN’S LITERATURE: A READER’S HISTORY FROM AESOP TO HARRY POTTER, by Seth Lerer. ISBN: 978-0226473017
WRITING WITH PICTURES: HOW TO WRITE AND ILLUSTRATE CHILDREN’S BOOKS, by Uri Shulevitz. ISBN: 978-0823059355
ILLUSTRATING CHILDREN’S BOOKS: CREATING PICTURES FOR PUBLICATION, by Martin Salisbury. ISBN: 978-0764127175