Hands
up if you’ve ever done what I’ve done and hidden your child’s favourite picture
book? This is the book they ask you to read over and over (and over!) to the
point where you can’t bear to ever read it again. While I can’t see your hands,
I’m willing to bet I’m not alone.
I
admit this isn’t a kind thing to do, but neither is inflicting the same story
on an adult every night for months on end—especially one that doesn’t appeal to
them. And that is the trick to writing a good picture book—ensuring your book holds
strong appeal for both children and adults.
So
what elements help guarantee an adult reader will want to read your book more
than once? In other words, what’s in it for the adults?
Humour
Regardless
of age, everyone loves a good laugh. But humour is subjective, and certainly
some forms of humour are more readily understood by an adult audience. One, in
particular, is satire. Dr. Seuss did satire so well.
As a young child I loved
his book, The Lorax, for its nonsense
words and fun rhymes. It never failed to bring a smile to my face and it was
the one book I kept renewing from the library (and consequently asking my mother to read over and over).
However,
it wasn’t until I reread this book as an adult that I appreciated Seuss’ wit
and the satirical poke at environmental issues. Okay, so it isn’t
laugh-out-loud funny, but there is a black humour to it that underlies a very
important message, and as an adult this satirical humour makes me admire and
appreciate Seuss’ work even more than I did as a child.
Humour
can also come from intertextuality. This is when the author or illustrator
makes references to other texts or images outside their book. For example in
Margie Palatini and Guy Francis’ Mary had
a Little Ham, the main character Stanley Snoutowski is a pig who seeks fame
and fortune on Broadway.
On one of the spreads, there are references to the shows
Stanley performs in, like South Pigcific,
The Pig and I, Pigmalion, Oinklahoma, The Pork Loin King, and Hamlet. Stanley even meets Broadway
producers Hoggers and Hammerswine. While humorous for adults, these references often
go over children’s heads.
Symbolism
Here
again, symbolism can also require readers to make connections to other books,
artwork, etc. Anthony Browne’s Willy the
Dreamer is a perfect example.
As Willy dreams of being a film star, a sumo
wrestler, a ballet dancer, etc, children look for the many ways Browne has
seamlessly incorporated symbolic bananas into the illustrations. Adults may be
looking for this also, but at the same time they will note visual references
and symbols that children may not have been exposed to yet, including symbols
and references to the work of Matisse, Henri Rousseau and Salvador Dali.
Sophisticated text
Picture
books are aimed at our youngest of child audiences, but their language is
anything but simple. In fact, picture books are often more sophisticated than
early chapter books as they are intended to be read by fluent readers, rather
than beginning readers.
Sophisticated
text can be aimed at children as a means of extending their vocabulary, or to
introduce them to literary devices. Or it can be employed to add something
extra for the adults.
Here’s
an example from Mini Grey’s book,The
Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon, where she uses sophisticated language
that could be interpreted both literally by children and figuratively by
adults.
“But the dish was broken and so was I. I let
them lock me up and turned away from the moon.”
The
dish is literally broken, and children can see that the dish is in pieces.
Adults, however, are able to take further meaning from this sentence. They
understand that the dish and the spoon have been defeated by life.
Another
Margie Palatini book, Bad Boys,
illustrated by Henry Cole, uses sophisticated language in the form of word
play.
Two wolves disguised as sheep try to fool three ewes into letting them
join the flock with a view to eating them. Margie uses appropriate sophisticated
language that only the adult audience will understand, but in a context that
won’t detract from the story or confuse children. Some examples include:
On the lam.
Fleece the flock.
Pull the wool over
their eyes.
The two were in
clover.
Interplay of text and
illustrations
This
is a strong feature of nearly all picture books, and contributes to them working
on more than one level. More often than not, the illustrations portray
information that is not provided in the text. And because adults are better
able to analyse the interaction between the text and illustrations, it’s an
opportunity to add another layer to a book just for the adult audience.
A
relatable one for parents is Boss Baby
by Marla Frazee.
At one point, the text states that “He [Boss Baby] conducted meetings. Lots and lots and lots of meetings, many
in the middle of the night.” What we wouldn’t get from the text without the
illustrations is that the baby is actually throwing lots and lots and lots of
tantrums, flanked by both parents as they attend to his needs of feedings,
playtime, and nappy changes.
And
let’s not forget the contradictory interplay of text and illustrations where
the text tells one story, and the illustrations tell another diametrically
opposed story. A great example is Bottomley
Cattery by Peter Harris and Doffy Weir.
Bottomley isn’t happy about being
left at the cattery while his human family go on holiday, but he tries to make
the best of it. Or so he says. He claims to have made lots of friends and not
to have caused a fuss. But the illustrations, of course, paint a very different
picture.
One
more book I’d like to mention here is Battle
Bunny by Jon Scieszka, Mac Barnett and Matthew Myers.
It’s two books in one,
with the second story drawn and written over the top of the first. The main
character, Alex, is given a book called Birthday
Bunny, which he soon defaces and rewrites. In the new story, Battle Bunny
is unleashing an evil plan which only Alex can stop. This new story is
hand-written and hand-drawn in pencil over the top of the original. The
interplay between the two texts and the two sets of illustrations makes for a
brilliant concept that most adults will appreciate far more than children. Not
to mention the fact that it is nearly impossible to read this book aloud. You
end up reading only one story at a time, whereas by reading it silently, you
can read the stories simultaneously.
Strong emotional pull
Whatever
you do, make your reader feel something! Engage them emotionally, be it through
humour, joy, fear, or even sadness. Readers are less apt to forget a book—or
want to put it down—if it has pulled at their heart strings or touched their
inner core. Adults are no different this way. I may hide my children’s books on
occasion, but I’d never hide Debi Gliori’s book, No Matter What.
And that’s because it speaks to my soul. It has a
powerful message about unconditional, never-ending love that elicits a strong
feeling from me. Admittedly, that experience is one of tearing up—but that’s
exactly why I pick it up as an adult over and over again. I want to relive that
same powerful experience.
Challenge readers’
expectations
There
are lots of ways to do this. Two I’m going to mention are twist endings and
using non-traditional story structures. Do you want to keep your adult reader
engaged? Then surprise them. Keep them guessing the outcome of your story until
the end. Children enjoy predictability to a certain extent but even they will
probably prefer a book that surprises them with an unexpected ending.
A
story that does just that is Waking
Beauty by Leah Wilcox and Lydia Monks.
It’s a fractured fairy tale and we
all know roughly how the story is supposed to pan out--with the prince waking
his beauty with a kiss. But although the prince gets his kiss, the ending is
anything but predictable. (And because I want you to be surprised when you read
it, I’m not going to spoil the ending here.)
Another
way to challenge reader’s expectations is to give them a story structure
they’ve not seen before. Most picture book writing advice recommends the use of
the standard story structure with a beginning, middle and end, but as with so many
writing rules, once you know them, you can start breaking them. And here are
two that break them so well:
The Day the Crayons
Quit
by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers (structured as a series of letters from
crayons)
and
Shark vs Train by Chris Barton and
Tom Lichtenheld (structured as a series of competitions between a shark and a
train without a decisive winner).
Before
I wrap up, I want to thank the Picture Book Den for hosting me today! It’s been
fun finding examples to share. And if there are any examples you’d like to
share, or elements I’ve missed (I’m sure there are plenty!), please feel to tell
me about them in the comments.
The
bottom line is great picture books hold universal appeal. Make sure your own
books offer something for everyone, regardless of their age. And bear in mind, your
books need to hold a reader’s attention over repeated readings. Like this one…
Oops!
That’s strange. I seem to have mislaid my favourite picture book. I just had it
out last night reading it to my kids a few times. I was going to tell you about
it and explain why it’s my favourite and perhaps read it to my children again
tonight but it’s not where I normally keep it on the bookshelf. I wonder if they’ve
seen it?!
Rebecca
is a picture book author and poet. Her books include: It’s Raining Bats & Frogs (Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan,
2015) and There was a Wee Lassie who
Swallowed a Midgie (Floris Picture Kelpies, 2014).
Before
writing for children, Rebecca inspected tights, taught English in Taiwan,
worked for a Russian comedian and travelled the world as a tour director. Learn
more about Rebecca at www.rebeccacolbybooks.com
or
follow her on Twitter at @amscribbler.
