Different perspectives by Jane Clarke

I’ve always loved picture books that show the same event or story from different perspectives, and/or empower the child ‘reader’ to feel as if they know more than the characters on the book. 

Here are a few of my favourites. They date back a while, but then again, so do I…

Rosie’s Walk written and illustrated by Pat Hutchins

Rosie the hen is completely oblivious to the dangerous fox stalking her, but the reader is in the know.

The Bottomley books by Peter Harris, illustrated by Doffy Weir

In Bottomley, Cattery, Bottomley the cat's account of what went on during his stay at the cattery doesn’t quite match that of the owners of the cattery and fellow guests.

The Doctor Xargle books by Jeanne Willis, illustrated by Tony Ross - in which Dr Xargle leads a class of small aliens to discover much about the habits of the strange creatures who live on Earth. Only Dr Xargle doesn’t get it quite right…

Dr Xargle’s Book of Earth Hounds is still a family favourite

Different perspectives have crept into a quite a few of my own picture books. So I’m delighted that my newest about-to-be-published picture book also plays with perspective - on a subject dear to my heart. 

In A Small Person’s Guide to Grandmas, illustrated by Lucy Fleming, the small person’s views are not telling the whole story - something I hope will bring a smile to the face of a happily exhausted Grandma reading the book to their very own small person.

This week, Jane's a very happily exhausted grandma, as she has her rapidly-getting-larger small people, UK and USA varieties, all together for the first time since the pandemic.

Different voices by Jane Clarke

Do you put on different voices when you're reading picture books aloud? I do. I can't help it.

I go for perky and interested when I read the Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (the pop! is key to this narrator's voice I think - who doesn't love a good sound effect?)

I adopt a tone of total innocence when I read the hilarious Bottomley books by Peter Harris and Doffy Weir. These books are told from first person (or should I say cat) point of view with the text contradicting the pictures. Here's a page from Bottomley Cattery.

And I have a different voice for each animal in the Gruffalo, some scary, some scared, some soft, some loud, some hissy. Reading the Gruffalo aloud is a bit like acting.

a page from The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

I have voices for all the characters I write in my own picturebooks and tones of voices in my head for the characters in the texts I'm writing. A few of my books have audio versions. It's strange, but wonderfully magical, to hear an actor voice them.

Knight Time read by Jane Whittenshaw, Gilbert the Great and Gilbert in Deep read by Dervla Kirwan, Stuck in the Mud ready by Cassandra Morris

Even for non actors like me, using different voices and making different sound effects when you're reading a picture book aloud helps the reader and the child listener enter the magical world of make believe.

It's fun to experiment using different voices when you read a picture book aloud, and it's fun to try out different voices when you're writing a picture book text. Narrator, first person, second person or third – every voice can be different and distinct.

What voices stand out for you? 

Jane's proud and excited to announce that her new picture book, Who Woke the Baby is published this month.

It's crammed full of yummy illustrations by Charles Fuge and there are plenty of animal noises to make when you read it out loud.