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LIBR 522E: ILLUSTRATED BOOKS FOR CHILDREN – COURSE SYLLABUS

 

Program : Master of Library and Information Studies
Year: 2005-2006, Winter session, Term 1
Course Schedule: Tuesdays, 6:00 pm-9:00 pm
Location : FNS 40
Instructor: Gail Edwards
Office location: TEF, room 321
Voicemail: 604-738-4948
Office hours: 4:00 – 5:45 p.m. Tuesdays, or by appointment
E-mail address : gedwards@interchange.ubc.ca

 Course Overview : The goal of this course is to provide students with the knowledge and appreciation of illustrated books for children and criteria for the selection and evaluation of illustrated books required for the development of a children’s collection and children’s reader’s advisory services.

Course Objectives:

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

  • Discuss the historical development of illustrated books for children
  • Demonstrate familiarity with resources, research, and critical theory on illustrated books for children
  • Develop and apply criteria for the evaluation of illustrated books
  • Discuss the various types, formats, and genres of illustrated books
  • Discuss the role of the author, illustrator, art designer, and editor in the creation of a picture book
  • Identify and discuss the various media, styles, and techniques of illustration
  • Identify and discuss a wide range of significant picture book authors and illustrators

Course Topics:

  • History of illustrated books for children
  • Research and resources in illustrated books
  • Evaluation of illustrated books
  • Types, formats, and genres of illustrated books
  • Roles of author, illustrator, art designer, editor
  • Artistic media, technique and style
  • The contribution of individual artists to the field of illustration

Learning Outcomes :

By the end of this course you will:

  • sharpen your critical thinking skills
  • expand your communication skills
  • demonstrate and receive feedback on your presentation skills engage in reflective and self-reflexive learning and evaluation

Format of the course: Weekly seminar meetings during course.

The course is designed to provide opportunities for individual and group work, and self-directed learning. Each class will be a mixture of group presentations, group activities, and discussions in a seminar format that will require your active participation. We will view, analyse and critique a wide selection of illustrated books and selected videos. Other in-class activities will include brief readings followed by discussion, and analyses of a variety of documents. I will also do a modest amount of teacher-driven lecturing, primarily to expand and problematise issues and place them in their broader social and historical contexts. You will have opportunities for informal feedback through your reading journals and through critical self-reflection and evaluation forms. I hope that the course will stimulate and provoke you to think critically about the role of illustration and illustrated books in the cultures of childhood.

Required and Recommended Reading:

Before class we will all read the required reading as specified in the course outline, and arrive at class prepared to contribute to the discussion. Your active participation in the discussion of readings is both encouraged and required.

Required:

Many of the required readings are available online. Others will be distributed to students in class.

Recommended readings on censorship and on criticism

  • Bibliographies of selected readings on children’s illustrated books will be distributed in class
  • Students are expected to read a variety of different types of children’s picture books and illustrated books, available in the UBC library and public libraries, and from bookstores in the Lower Mainland

Course Assignments, Due dates and Weight in relation to final course mark:

Assignment

Due Date

Weight

Reading journal 1

September 20

10%

Evaluation of picturebook illustrator or author's webpage

October 4

20%

Reading journal 2

November 1

10%

Short review of a picture book

November 8

10%

Annotated thematic bibliography

November 22

20%

Presentation of an author/illustrator's body of work

Throughout course

20%

Discussion of a reading

Throughout course

10%

Course Assignments and Evaluation

Reading Journal 1

Due: Tuesday, September 20

Your first assignment is to write a brief reflection (2-3 pages) on your own biography as a reader of illustrated books. The following questions are intended to be a springboard to your own reflection, rather than a prescribed set of questions and answers.

  • Did you read as a child?
  • Were you read to? Was storytelling part of your tradition?
  • What types of picturebooks or other illustrated books did you enjoy as a child (or not)?
  • Did you have a favourite picturebook? What do you remember about it?
  • What is your current professional or personal engagement with illustrated children’s books?
  • How has your appreciation and understanding of illustrated books changed as an adult?

Evaluation
The first journal is worth 10 marks (10% of your final grade). Your evaluation for the first journal will be based on the following criteria:

  • you reflected critically on the assignment
  • your reader’s biography was well-organised and easy to read
  • you proofread your work and conformed to professional norms of communication

Evaluation of a picturebook illustrator or author’s webpage
Due Tuesday, October 4.

Employ your best search strategies to locate a children’s picturebook illustrator or author’s webpage. For the purposes of this assignment, it is preferable that the webpage is your subject’s official/personal webpage. If possible, avoid choosing a webpage that provides only second-hand information.

Some helpful resources to find appropriate sites can be found at:

http://www.bookcentre.ca/

http://www.canscaip.org/members.html

http://childlitnavigator.imaginarylands.org/

http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/authors.htm

http://marilee.us/authors.html

http://www.cbcbooks.org/contacts/

http://www.ortakales.com/illustrators/

http://www.scbwi.org/links/mem_links.htm

Examine your chosen webpage, using the following questions as a basis for your evaluation. Pay particular attention to the way that information is presented on the webpage.

Questions to ask about the form of the webpage

  • Is the webpage easy or difficult to navigate?
  • Is the webpage attractive? Well designed?
  • When was the webpage last updated? Can you tell how much was updated?
  • Are there links to other sites from the web page? Are they working?
  • How does the site make use of the technologies of the WWW (animation, sound, videos, Flash or other multimedia)?

Questions to ask about the content of the webpage

  • What’s the purpose of the webpage ? Why was it created? Who is the audience?
  • What sort of information is included on the webpage? How comprehensive is the information? Is it appropriate to the age of the target audience?
  • Is the information logically presented?
  • Is the source of factual or attributed information well documented?
  • Does the webpage include photographs and/or images? Are they appropriate to age of the intended target audience? Are the source of the images documented?
  • Does the webpage include teachers’ or librarians’ resources? Suggestions for further reading?
  • Is there any particular advantage or disadvantage to this particular form of the presentation?

Now write a 2-3 page evaluation of the webpage. Focus your attention primarily on analyzing the structure and content of the site, rather than simply describing the various pages. Think about how you might integrate the webpage into a library workshop, reading program, lesson plan or other “real life” activity and briefly outline possible strategies. B e sure to include a full citation of the title and URL of the webpage, including the date on which you accessed it.

Evaluation
The webpage assignment is worth 20 marks (20% of your final grade). Your grade for the assignment will be based on the following criteria:

  • you considered both the form and the content of the webpage (the “what” of the webpage)
  • you analysed the evidence presented by the webpage (the “why” of the webpage)
  • you actively engaged in critical thinking about the evidence presented in the webpage
  • your writing is logical, organised, and insightful
  • you proofread your work and conformed to professional norms of communication

Reading Journal 2
Due: Tuesday, November 1

Please locate and make a coloured copy of one page (or two-page opening) from a picturebook or children’s illustrated book. The image should be one that you find attractive, interesting, challenging or disturbing. You will then write a brief reflection (2-3 pages) on your response to the image, drawing on the analytical vocabulary that you have been developing in this course.

The following questions are intended to be a springboard to your own reflection, rather than a prescribed set of questions and answers.

  • What is the emotional “tone” of the image?
  • What effect does this image have on me? What causes me to have that reaction?
  • Is my response objective or subjective?
  • Who is the implied viewer?
  • How is the image structured? What visual techniques are employed?
  • What media and techniques are employed?
  • What is the relationship between picture and text?

You will then take your analysis, keyboard it, and submit it with the coloured copy. You must cite the source of the illustration in your journal entry.

Evaluation
The second journal is worth 10 marks (10% of your final grade). Your evaluation for the second journal will be based on the following criteria:

  • you reflected critically on the assignment
  • your analysis of the visual evidence is clear, logical and convincing
  • you proofread your work and conformed to professional norms of communication

Short Review of a Picturebook
Due: Tuesday, November 8

During class on Tuesday, November 1, you will have the opportunity to select a picturebook. Your task is to write a short review of no more than one page, suitable for either publication in a popular magazine or for guidance in making library purchasing decisions.

Your review should make a convincing argument for the merits and drawbacks of the book in a form that would be helpful to a reader trying to decide whether to purchase it for personal or professional use. To this end, your review should consider the suitability of the book for the intended audience, and integrate any description of plot and narrative with evaluation of the literary and artistic worth of the text and images.

While you are writing for a generalist, rather than a specialist audience, you should draw on the analytical concepts that we have explored in this course in support of your review.

Evaluation
The review is worth 10 marks (10% of your final grade). Your evaluation will be based on the following criteria:

  • you reflected critically on the assignment
  • your analysis is clear, logical and convincing
  • your recommendation for or against purchase is well-supported
  • you proofread your work and conformed to professional norms of communication

Thematic Annotated Bibliography
Due: Tuesday, November 22

You are responsible for compiling an annotated bibliography of children’s illustrated books on a topic or theme, as follows:

  • picturebooks by media, technique or style of illustration
  • picturebooks by theme or topic or region
  • picturebooks that address a particular social issue
  • pictuebooks that have been challenged, censored or banned
  • picturebooks for older readers

Format
Your bibliography should include no fewer than 10 books. Your bibliography must begin with a brief statement of the theme, focus or purpose Citations should be in Turabian / Chicago A style. For each citation you must include a brief annotation that explains what the item is and indicates why it appeared on your bibliography.

Evaluation
The bibliography is worth 20 marks (20% of your final grade). Your evaluation will be based on the following criteria

  • you clearly identify the purpose of the bibliography
  • the works are cited correctly and accurately
  • the annotations clearly identify why each item has been included on the bibliography
  • the citations are carefully and thoughtfully selected
  • you proofread your work and conformed to professional norms of communication

Class Presentations
Due: Throughout the course
Scheduling of presentation: Via email, and then confirmed in class on Tuesday, September 13

Format
You are responsible for choosing an illustrator with a significant body of work and presenting his or her work to the class. In your presentation, you should explore the media and techniques used by the illustrator. Does the illustrator’s work have a distinctive style, or does it change from book to book? What other influences have contributed to the illustrator’s work? Why did you choose this illustrator?

You may wish to share books with the class and/or create a slide or multimedia presentation, and/or plan an activity for the class based on the illustrator’s work. Your goal is to introduce us to the life and work of the illustrator, and to explore the breadth of their artistic style.

Employ your creativity and your best presentation strategies to stimulate our interest in the subject, inspire lively discussion and promote active learning. You must also provide us with a bibliography of the works presented. Your presentation must not exceed 30 minutes, with an additional fifteen minutes for questions.

Once you have determined your first and second choices for the illustrator you would like to present, please send an email to the class discussion list indicating your choices and preferred presentation dates. Selection of illustrators and presentation dates will be on a first come, first serve basis, as indicated by the date stamp on your email message. We will confirm the schedule in class on Tuesday, September 13.

Evaluation
Your presentation is worth 20 marks (20% of your final grade). The grade will be based on the following criteria:

  • you presented a clear and cogent summary of the illustrator’s life and works
  • you had a clear grasp of the major issues raised by the illustrator’s work
  • you made effective use of visual materials to support your presentation
  • you placed the illustrator’s work in the broader context of work of the period/style/genre/nationality, as appropriate
  • you provoked lively class discussion and debate
  • you showed creativity, originality, and enthusiasm
  • you conformed to the time guidelines

You are responsible for completing a self-evaluation form after the presentation that you will turn in at the end of the class. For each presentation your peers will also fill out an evaluation form. The peer evaluation forms will be returned to you for review and reflection. A sample peer evaluation form will be distributed in class before the first class presentation.

Presentation of a reading
Due: Throughout the course

Format: You will be asked to choose one reading from a selection of journal articles and book chapters that focus on the particular dynamics of the picturebook and prepare a short written analysis that you will discuss with the class.

You should consider the following in your analysis:

  • Who is the author?
  • Who is the intended audience?
  • What is the author’s thesis or main argument? How does the author support that thesis?
  • What are the author’s main conclusions?
  • What are the author’s underlying assumptions?
  • Is the article well organized, clear, and easy to read?
  • Does the article contribute to an improved understanding of the subject? Does it provide an overview of existing research, make a new argument, provide a new way of looking the subject?
  • Do you think the author succeeds in what he or she sets out to do?
  • How does the article build on what you have read and learned so far in the course?

When you write your report:

1. Begin with an introductory statement that defines the subject of your report. Summarise the main argument of the article in two or three sentences.
2. Develop your analysis in the body of your reading report. It’s best not to follow the author’s organization when organizing your analysis, since this approach lends itself to summary rather than analysis. Rather, organize your information in a way that best supports your thesis, perhaps by measuring the material you are critiquing against certain explicit or implicit criteria, or by comparing it to other similar material.
3. End with a conclusion that summarizes your evaluation.

Evaluation:
Your presentation and written report is worth 10 marks (10% of your final grade. The grade will be based on the following criteria:

  • you accurately the article
  • you summarised the article coherently and clearly
  • you tied the reading to the class presentations and discussions
  • you understood the major issues raised by the reading
  • you identified and discussed links between the readings, to issues raised in other assignments for this course, and to your personal experiences and opinions
  • you actively engaged in thinking about what you are learning in this course
  • you proofread your work and conformed to scholarly norms of communication

Course schedule and readings

Week 1 Tuesday, September 6

Introduction: What is this course about and why am I taking it?

Week 2 Tuesday, September 13

History and sociology of textual and visual literacy and print culture, theoretical frameworks:

Read: Deborah Thacker, “Disdain or Ignorance? Literary Theory and the Absence of Children’s Literature,” The Lion and the Unicorn 24, no. 1 (2000): 1-17, (available online through Project Muse).

Read for Presentation Perry Nodelman, “How Picture Books Work,” in Only Connect: Readings on Children’s Literature 3d ed., ed. Sheila Egoff, Gordon Stubbs, Ralph Ashley, and Wendy Sutton (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1996): 242-253 (distributed in class).

Week 3 Tuesday, September 20

History of children’s illustrated books I: The beginnings of illustrated books through the nineteenth century

Read: Anne Lundin, “Victorian Horizons, Sensational Design,” in Victorian Horizons: The Reception of the Picture Books of Walter Crane, Randolph Caldecott, and Kate Greenaway ( Lanham , MD and London : The Children’s Literature Association and Scarecrow Press, 2001): 21-57 (distributed in class).

Read for Presentation: David Lewis, “Showing and Telling: The Difference That Makes a Difference,” Reading 35, no. 3 (2001): 94-99 (Available online from Academic Search Premier).

Week 4 Tuesday, September 27

History of children’s illustrated books II: Illustrated books for children in the twentieth century

Read: Barbara Bader, “American Picture Books From Max’s Metaphorical Monsters to Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse,” Horn Book Magazine 74, no. 2 (1998): 141-156 (available online from Academic Search Premier).

Additional reading: Barbara Bader, “Only the Best: The Hits and Misses of Anne Carroll Moore,” Horn Book Magazine 73, no. 5 (1997): 520-529 (available online from Academic Search Premier).

Read for Presentation: Maria Nikolajeva, and Carole Scott, “The Dynamics of Picturebook Communication,” Children’s Literature in Education, 31, no. 4 (2000): 225-239 (Available online through Academic Search Premier).

Week 5 Tuesday, October 4

Artistic elements: The Grammar of Art

Read: Michele Anstey and Geoff Bull, “An Illustrative Grammar,” in Reading the Visual: Written and Illustrated Children’s Literature ( Sydney , Australia : Harcourt, 2000): 179-197 (distributed in class).

Read for Presentation: Lawrence R. Sipe, “How Picture Books Work: A Semiotically Framed Theory of Text-Picture Relationships,” Children’s Literature in Education 29, no. 2 (1998): 97-108 (Available online through Academic Search Premier).

Week 6 Tuesday, October 11

Making a Picture Book / Artistic Media, Artistic styles

Read for Presentation: Evelyn Arizpe, “‘Letting the Story Out’: Visual Encounters With Anthony Browne’s ‘The Tunnel.’” Reading 35, no. 3 (2001): 115-119 (Available online through Academic Search Premier).

Additional Reading : Dilys Evans, “Picture Book, Picture Book, On the Wall...” Horn Book Magazine 74, no. 2 (1998): 258-261 (available online from Academic Search Premier).

Week 7 Tuesday, October 18

Visual elements / paratext: Jackets, typeface, design

Read for Presentation: Denise E. Agosto, “One and Inseparable: Interdependent Storytelling in Picture Storybooks,” Children’s Literature in Education 30, no. 4 (1999): 267-280 (Available online through Academic Search Premier).

Week 8 Tuesday, October 25

Text/narrative/illustration: How picturebooks work

Read for Presentation Bette P. Goldstone, “Whaz Up With Our Books: Changing Picture Book Codes and Teaching Implications.” Reading Teacher 55, no. 4 (2001/2002): 362-370 (Available online through Academic Search Premier).

Week 9 Tuesday, November 1

Evaluation / review / awards

Read: L. Unsworth and J. Wheeler, “Re-valuing the Role of Images in Reviewing Picture Books,” Reading 36, no. 2 (2002): 68-74 (Available online through Academic Search Premier).

Additional Reading : Karla Kuskin, “To Get a Little More of the Picture: Reviewing Picture Books,” Horn Book Magazine 74 (1998): 159-165 (Available online through Academic Search Premier).

Read for Presentation: Maureen Walsh, “‘ Reading ’ Pictures: What Do They Reveal?: Young Children’s Reading of Visual Texts.” Reading 37, no. 3 (2003): 123-130 (Available online through Academic Search Premier).

Week 10 Tuesday, November 8

Illustrated book genres - moving beyond the picturebook

Read for Presentation: Michele Anstey, “‘It’s Not All Black and White’: Postmodern Picture Books and New Literacies,” Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 45, no. 6 (2002): 444-457 (Available online through Academic Search Premier).

Week 11 Tuesday, November 15

Illustrated book genres 2: Queering the canon, Gender, sexuality, anti-racism and the picturebook / Censorship

Read: Melynda Huskey, “Queering the Picture Book,” The Lion and the Unicorn 26 (2002): 66-77, available online through Project Muse;

Read: Karen Sands-O’Connor, “Why Are People Different?: Multiracial Families in Picture Books and the Dialogue of Difference,” The Lion and the Unicorn 25 (2001): 412-426, available online through Project Muse.

Additional reading: Lawrence R. Sipe, “The Private and Public Worlds of We Are All in the Dumps With Jack and Guy,” Children’s Literature in Education 27, no. 2 (1996): 87-206 (Available online through Academic Search Premier).

Read for Presentation: Mary Ryan and Michele Anstey, “Identity and Text: Developing Self-Conscious Readers,” Australian Journal of Language and Literacy 26, no. 1 (2003): 9-23 (Available online through Academic Search Premier).

Week 12 Tuesday, November 22

Publishing: The Canadian and International Scene

Read: Roy MacSkimming, “The Mavericks of KitLit,” in The Perilous Trade: Publishing Canada’s Writers ( Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, 2003): 273-295 (distributed in class).

Additional reading: Mieke K. T. Desmet, “Intertextuality / Intervisuality in Translation: The Jolly Postman’s Intercultural Journey From Britain to the Netherlands .” Children’s Literature in Education 32, no. 1 (2001): 31-43 (Available online through Academic Search Premier).

Week 13 Tuesday, November 29

Concluding thoughts Research and resources for the study of illustrated books

Attendance and class participation:

The calendar states: “Regular attendance is expected of students in all their classes (including lectures, laboratories, tutorials, seminars, etc.). Students who neglect their academic work and assignments may be excluded from the final examinations. Students who are unavoidably absent because of illness or disability should report to their instructors on return to classes.”

Your attendance in class is critical to your understanding of the issues. We all collectively benefit by the insights of each class member. You are expected to come to class on time, and actively participate in class discussions and presentations. We are all responsible for encouraging and facilitating the learning of others in this course through our willingness to engage in discussion and reflection, and by our respect for the variety of opinions on any topic. We will all listen actively and practice good interpersonal communication skills.

If you must be away from class for any reason, please let me know in advance. Because of the compressed nature of the course, any student who misses more than three classes may be ineligible to complete the course without supplemental assignments. A student who is repeatedly absent from class without explanation, comes to class unprepared, treats other students disrespectfully, or makes little or no contribution to class discussion or group presentations will not meet the criteria for passing this course.

We are mutually responsible for due dates. You are responsible for turning in your assignments on time, and I am responsible for grading them and returning them promptly. All work will be graded and returned to you by the last day of class, November 29. Except in cases of extreme hardship and by prior arrangement, extensions will not be granted for assignments or in-class responsibilities, and no work will be accepted after the last day of class.

To ensure that discussion within the classroom is equitable, we will observe the following classroom norms:

  • We recognise that we come with many different experiences and perspectives.
  • We will treat disagreements of opinion as an opportunity to be stretched, rather than as a showdown in which one person wins and the others lose.
  • We will all listen actively and practice good interpersonal communication skills.
  • We will allow one another to finish speaking.
  • We will acknowledge our own biases and issues.
  • We will speak from our own experience and position, and refrain from speaking for others.
  • We will refrain from assuming that individual opinions reflect the beliefs of a group.
  • We will allow one another the right to refrain from sharing and will seek to invite those who are silent to share what they desire.

Grading Policy:

All assignments will be awarded marks using the evaluative criteria given on the SLAIS web site: http://www.slais.ubc.ca/RESOURCES/slais-marking.htm.

Written and Spoken English Requirement : Written and spoken work may receive a lower mark if it is, in the opinion of the instructor, deficient in English.