Illustrated books are no longer just for children, though it’s probably easy for most of us to think back to the picture books we used to devour as children. I am out of town this week, but am happy to welcome Leora Wenger as today’s guest. When she submitted this post, I was more than pleased. Leora may be a whiz at designing websites, but she also takes time to nurture her creativity. This post brought back lots of pleasant memories for me, and I hope it will for you as well.
Illustrated Books: What is the Use of a Book without Illustrations?
“What is the use of a book,” thought Alice, “without pictures or conversations?” Thus Alice asks famously in Alice in Wonderland. Indeed, when Jeri asked me to write this post, and I decided to write about illustrations and illustrators, I thought, what kinds of books have illustrations? Mostly we find illustrators in children’s books. But at the end of the post, I will mention a few graphic novels that have been read widely by adults and teens.
One of the reasons why I chose to write about illustrations is because I love good visuals. I like creating images (I do so on websites, in watercolors, for slideshows on blogging and in past on clay) as well viewing them in museums or in a presentation. One can present with one’s voice or with words on the paper; to capture an audience’s attention, the old cliché about a picture being worth 1000 words really rings true.
John Tenniel is well-known as the illustrator of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. One of the reasons I can show his images here and not those of more recent illustrators is because the images are in the public domain. One can even take Tenniel’s images and add text anywhere as I demonstrated in this post called Create Attractive Visual Images for Your Blog Posts.
A favorite illustrator from childhood is John R. Neill – he created drawings of Dorothy, Ozma, Trot and Betsy in various Oz books that I loved to view. The illustrations remind one of the famous Gibson Girl drawings of that period. O’Neill was not the first illustrator of L. Frank Baum’s Oz books. That distinction goes to W. W. Denslow, but Denslow and Baum got into an argument and so Denslow lost the opportunity to do more Oz illustrations. That’s a happy historical fact for me, as I greatly prefer Neill’s Dorothy. As a teen, I owned four Oz books (TikTok of Oz, The Scarecrow in Oz, Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz and The Road to Oz) – those four books now sit on my daughter’s bookshelves (and still get read).
In the world of modern illustrators, Brett Helquist, illustrator of the Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events, comes to mind. Helquist is a master of action-packed line drawings; take a look at his website to see terrifying scenes of Baudelaire children in trouble. Helquist has also illustrated children’s picture books; if I find a picture books with drawings like these, I am more likely to want to read the book.
Last year I had the opportunity to interview an illustrator, Adam Gustavson, on my Sketching Out blog. Adam was the illustrator of a book that took place over one hundred years ago, so he need to research both the time and setting to do his work. I have such admiration for these illustrators: each illustration is a painting unto itself, and thus creating a series like these is like creating twenty or so detailed paintings. Adam Gustavson relates that one of the reasons he went into the field of art was that it was more practical than music (!).
In recent years, graphic novels have become popular. With the style of the comic book, a few author/illustrators have adopted the drawing with text as a way to tell a story. An example is Maus by Art Spiegelman: the book tells the horrific tragedy of a family caught in the Holocaust with cats, mice and pigs as characters. Another book in this genre is Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. One can easily understand how both these books are more widely read because of the cartoon-style chosen by the authors.
Do you have favorite illustrators or illustrated books? What books come to mind when you think of illustrations?
About Leora Wenger: Leora Wenger builds websites for small businesses, an anthropology society and Rutgers University departments. She enjoys tweaking websites and answering questions about WordPress. In her spare time she’s a mom and a wife. Every now and then she squeezes in the time to paint a watercolor or two. Learn more on her blogs: Websites for Small Biz and Sketching Out.
The images in this post are in the public domain and have been supplied by today’s guest.
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Wow… Who knew this about Leora? In our society today visuals are extremely important if you are going to get and hold the adult attention. Like it or not our attention span has become much more limited in this age of technology. Visuals are no longer an option, they are a must.
Cheryl, I too see the importance of visuals! One can learn from the master illustrators.
I hadn’t thought about this, but it makes sense! I think we’ve become an even more visual society having planted ourselves in front of computers for a great deal of our day…even icons are images and we’ve been taught to identify an action with a picture!
Jacquie, I wasn’t even thinking this way when I wrote the post, but what is say is true: we look at a small icon and know what it is.
I love visuals in books. It is fun to see what the characters look like or what the setting for the story is.
Yes, it makes the book more fun!
Leora, this is such a rich topic. I absolutely loved Shel Siverstein’s poetry and illustrations when I was a child. Hours and hours were spent pouring over his books and reading them aloud. The intersection between text and imagery cannot be underestimated in this day and age. One of my favorite units to teach in the creative writing class I taught to high school students was the unit on children’s literature. We had such fun, and I always went to the library to check out a tall stack of picture books to use in the classroom. I think we can all relate to that feeling that occurs during story time. As adults, we sometimes lose touch with that, but it never really goes away. Today’s technology makes it more important than ever to incorporate visuals to help get our points across as well as capture the reader’s attention.
Thank you for the opportunity, Jeri, to write about illustrations. As you say, we are learning to incorporate visuals to capture attention.
A very enjoyable blog post. Thanks. There are so many great illustrators – hard to pick only a few but I like Arthur Rackham and Lizbeth Zwerger.
Jan, thank you for two more illustrators to enjoy!
Be it a book or a blog post, illustrations and pictures make the content come alive! I enjoy reading a post that has creative sketches and pictures .
Good point on how a blog post can come alive with creative visuals.
Leora — I didn’t know about your Sketching Out blog. Always something new to learn about fellow bloggers. I love illustrations. Years ago, before the advent of designing on the computer, I worked at an ad agency that employed what were called “sketch men.” They were artists who would draw a beautiful illustration of what an finished ad, which usually used photography, would like like. They were shown to clients for their review and approval before actually writing and creating the ad. I always liked the illustrations better than the final ad. There is something very personal about an illustration.
Jeanette, oh, I agree with you about those old-fashioned advertisements! I can guess what you mean.
My Sketching Out blog was my original blog, and it was the way I have learned WordPress. It had another name originally, and I’ve tried all different topics. I intend to gear it mostly toward sketches of my work and some photography. I show my “experiments” on Sketching Out and talk business and finished products on Websites for Small Biz.
I am a visual leaner so i always pay attention to the illustrations even before i read the words on the page. Very good post and i with you 100%
I also get drawn in by imagery. I chose my daughter’s picture books based on the illustrations. And I spend more time on a blog page that has nice illustrations or other visuals.
You’re right about visuals. I love those books and even now I can enjoy children’s picture books reading to my grandchildren. We have a set of Charles Dickens’ books that have a number of interesting illustrations.
Sometimes my post topic doesn’t lend itself well to visuals but I always try to find at least one to add.
Lenie
Regarding a post topic not lending itself to imagery, sometimes one has to think out of the box. If you add some text to a great photo, for example, you can get it to relate. I like to talk about my dog who won’t learn WordPress (but you can).
Great Post – thanks to both Jeri &Leora. Childrens books without pictures may as well not exist! Even now, I love books that have illustrations. I’m glad that you brought up graphic novels too. because we associate ‘picture books’ with children we forget how powerful they are for adult reading. I remember reading Fritz the Cat books from the 70’s and they were very much of an adult nature. A perfect post, combining my two loves – words and pictures. Thanks again to you both:-)
“combining my two loves – words and pictures” – I knew there was a reason why we get along, A.K.!
I have always drawn from visual medium for the strangeness that comes out of my head. There once was a time when you could find me in a bookstore with a stack of art books next to me and a wire bound notebook in front of me. Drawing and painting, frustrate me more than I like to admit most of the time so I am always more than happy to enjoy the work of others.
Graphic novels are a great offshoot of the dimestore comic industry and japanese manga books. It is only recently that this form of story telling has begun to catch on with more than just the comic geeks in our society. You could say that the comics of our youth have matured with us.
Jon, thanks for bringing up the comic source of graphic novels. Yes, they (comic book writers) should get the credit for creating the genre.
Hello Leora,
Nice to meet you here on Jeri’s blog.
I was immediately drawn into the imagery and the spacing of the illustrations wanted me to keep reading. Aside from that, when you think about it, we see, think and remember in images. Therefore, you really add value when including illustrations.
Kind Regards,
Bill
Funny, how you mention the spacing of the images on this post! You are proving the point of visuals making a difference, Bill.
Hello; thanks for sharing your memories as well as some of your favorite illustrators and illustrations with us. I have a friend name robin hallett who is a intuitive healer and blogger and she is known for her own illustrations that accompany all of her posts. as a blind person I can’t speak to anyone’s ability. I just tend to think that if someone is a good person and I like them that their work should be good. smile thanks again for sharing and take care, Max
Max, I wish I could make a sculpture so you could feel it in the post! I guess that technology is not yet here. Thanks for your comments and for reminding us we can’t all appreciate the visuals.
We’ve become a very visual society, thanks to the internet. An image pulls you into a story like nothing else. And yet, it’s good old-fashioned illustrations that are often the most powerful. The energy and detail of a well-executed picture conveys meaning in a way that text alone simply can’t do. Good points, all!
The power of the illustration – yet much of the images online are photos. I do like the combination of text with image to convey a message.
I have heard other people say that a person only has one first impression and to make it as good as possible. I would agree that it is important to have a classy cover. Great point!
Covers: that would be a great post! Unfortunately, I have learned that publishers often choose covers, and I don’t always care for them. Some are more striking than others.
I am a very visual person so I love illustrations. Probably why I love reading my kids children’s books.
Yes, children’s books are fun! In large part because of the great illustrations.
Reading this post reminded me of all the illustrations in the books I read as a child, not just the early-day picture books, but the chapter books I later read. I don’t seem to find many illustrations in the books I read now, but sometimes the covers feature great illustrations.
I remember greatly enjoying the illustrations in some chapter books. For example, when Eustace meets the Dragon in the third Narnia book.
Leora I love illustrated childrens books particularly black and white and a woodcut look. For me there is also an important element of balance in that some illustrations can almost make the text redundant whereas the best leave more options to the imagination. Sendak can have that problem but the quality is so brilliant I will never complain.Whenever I see the Tenniels they transport me right back to childhood as does the illustrator for Kenneth Graeme whose name presently escapes me as childhood was quite a while ago !
Oh, Sendak is such a talent! Those wild things are incredible.
I am very visual and really enjoy a good illustration to accompany a book. I think it is the visual feast that really entices a child, at least that is what I am hoping for with my son as he seems to be very visual as well.
I hope you enjoy the time you read with your son!
As you know, I love doing illustrations and I so love your work on your other site. Most people don’t know that I’m a pin an inkiest and have done private commissions in my past. For me, the one book that strikes a cord is Beatrix Potter and her charming mouse tales, they enthralled me as a child and still charm me as an adult. A picture speaks to a story like no other medium, so I do love the combination for sure. 🙂
Ah, Beatrix Potter: she enchants.
Interesting post. When I think of illustrations in books, I think of Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.
I’m not one who likes illustrations in books, because I want to visualize the characters and settings myself. I do enjoy illustrations when it comes to smaller works. That’s just me though.
Denise, you remind me of the lovers of radio, and how disappointed they were the unimaginative world of television.
This post made me think about how I need to find a way to incorporate visuals into my blog. Currently, the only picture I have is on the author’s page. My blog is made up of stories about my teaching experiences. I don’t have any pictures that connect to that. I also wonder about using google images? Aren’t there legal issues with using someone’s picture?
Dana, you ask good questions! Yes, legally you cannot take someone’s photo and use it. That’s why I took images that are in the public domain. There is also Creative Commons photos – you can use those, but you need to provide a link back to the source of the photo and give a little credit.
I like using my own photos – take a few here and there, and then look in your collection when you need one. If you can add some creative text on top of the photo, even better.
My kids are 6 and 9, and I love reading their books! I had a wise friend (and school librarian) tell me that no matter what grade level my kids are reading at, I should continue to encourage them to read picture books, for exposure to the visual creativity. I think that goes for all of us!
I like the way your friend thinks. Developing a sense of the visual can certainly be useful (as well as a sense of sound, taste, touch and smell!).
I was surprised to find that I aside from David Sibbet and Susan Cooper it had been ages (many, many years) since I read anything with illustrations. Surprised because I love visuals and think they are such an important part of storytelling. I posed the question to my husband thinking he’d be equally stumped but he promptly answered with Children of Hurin. 🙂
Debra, time for me to read Children of Hurin. Thanks for the suggestion.
I enjoy visuals in books so much but, of course do not see them much these days in adult books. My daughters are avid readers and when they were growing up, the visuals helped one of them learn to read since she has a severe learning disability. Now, at 16, she reads graphic novels which helps her to understand the content so much better.
Laurie, what a great recommendation for graphic novels. Makes a lot of sense. Glad they help your daughter.
Really good post Leora and thank you for sharing her with us, Jeri. Leora, what do you think the pros/cons are using actual photography in books vs illustrations to best tell a story? I’ve been encouraged to write a children’s book about my Golden Retriever and wondered which avenue would best portray the real life story to tell. Thank you 🙂
Mike, you make me think of book The Lonely Doll. Or The Red Balloon. Assuming all costs are even, it’s really a matter of preference. But it seems less expensive to do photos than illustrations. Of course, if you hire a top photography with tiptop equipment, that would be expensive as well.
So the answer is: you need to do what works best for the book.
Thank you, Leora…I so appreciate your reply and your last sentence really nailed it for me. Perfect! Have a great day 🙂
When I was researching about enhancing my memory, some of the options given were related to the five senses. It doesn’t surprise therefore that the use of illustrations and graphics to capture the sense of sight is one of the most profound ways of writing a book or article.
Illustrations certainly have a lot of appeal!
I have always added pictures to enhance my written work. It helps people to visualize what you are trying to convey and it also provides a necessary break for their eyes from reading just text. I agree that Illustrations are masterful works of art, Huckleberry Finn comes to mind 🙂
Sandy, I had fun looking up “Huck Finn illustrations” just now. What a treat.
I like to see books with Illustrations. I do dog training with dog, obedience, rally and agility. I understand what the author is trying to put across when I see pictures and illustrations. I think the mind grasp images better than text.
Arlene, I can understand how a dog training book with illustrations works better than without. In connection with the comment above, I wonder if in some cases photos are better than illustrations, and in others the illustrations would be better teachers. In either case, someone with a good visual eye who understands the topic would have to make those choices.
Marjane Satrapi’s two memoirs were the first graphic novels I’d ever read. When I picked the first one up from the library, I didn’t realize it was a graphic novel, and was slightly disappointed. It turns out that her books became two of my all-time favorites. I can’t even imagine them any other way.
They are wonderful books (the memoirs of Marjane Satrapi). Glad you didn’t just return it because it had comics.
I can’t think of any right off hand, but I do know that having illustrations or photos in a story immensely improves the overall experience.
Karen, I do love a great illustration!
For some reason I can remember the illustrations from the Curious George books that I used to read when I was a kid. The illustrator did an excellent job.
Jason, the talented H. A. Rey and his wife Margret did their own illustrations for the Curious George books. What a team they were! Have you also seen Find the Constellations? It’s a great way to learn about the stars, with great imagery.
I love the illustrations in the Little Bear books, and Maurice Sendak’s illustrations.
My daughter needed to draw a bear for a school project; I told her to look in a Little Bear book.
As I was opening this post I thought of “Alice in Wonderland” as I had the book with illustrations when I was a girl. It’s wonderful that an image from it is included here. I added photos to my book because I thought the added visual interest enhanced the poetry. It’s interesting to read more about the additions that illustrations have!
Yes, the photos from Alice are really quite striking and memorable.
Oops, I meant the images from Alice. Not photos!
I must admit, I’m a very visual oriented person. Now I want to find some beautifully illustrated books to read.
There are great ones in a children’s section of a library or bookstore. The illustrators carefully create each image like one would a grand painting.
I just went to “The Little Prince” exhibit here in NYC and it was SUCH a treat to see the original illustrations done for the book! Made an already favorite even more special:-)
Hello Leora
Wow …. I came to know that you are really creative , writing is hard but making pictures , having creative thoughts and having the talent to transfer them on paper is even harder.
In our world pictures or visuals are very important…
Illustrations do an amazing job to understand or get the idea about stuff. I always try to pick books with illustrations ..
My daughter is excited to see the picture of Alice in Wonderland and she asked me to read for her as she though it is Alice story..
Wow – where did you find those great illustrations? Well done! As a Mum of a 9 year old “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” is his favourite – why – because it has illustrations I am sure!