Introduction
On account of Birth Rate Declination nowadays, and the elevation to economic and education, parents are more willing to spend much more time and money to educate their own children. Therefore, to help kids build up good reading habits is really essential and that is the reason why the importance of Children Literature is more apparent than decades ago.
Motivation
After taking Professor Chen’s Children Literature course, and reading some hand-made books by Teacher Freda’s students, we are inspired a lot. To create a book by ourselves is considered more meaningful and interesting than to analyze other famous author’s works by our group members, therefore, with this strong motivation, we decide to create one picture book by ourselves.
Purposes
We identify our book “Take Me out for Fun” as a concept book and a picture book as well. In this book, we intend to teach students useful vocabulary of objects they will find in a park. Moreover, simple dialogues along with pictures, and repetitive sentences structures will be used to instruct little children how to greet others with good manners. Also, adults can also use this concept book to teach kids different colors and simple grammar rules that is used in each dialogue.
Besides this apparent didactic lesson, friendship is the topic we would like to focus in this story. Though the interaction between Patrick, the protagonist, his best friend, the soccer, Bill, and also the greeting between the ball and other objects he meets, the illustrations in our book will assist us to understand what they will experience in the park and how they interact with each other.
Target Audience
Our target audience of this concept book is kids aged 1-3. Since the language used in our book is fairly easy and they are written in dialogues, we strongly suggest teachers or parents read this story with their children. They can use this concept book to teach kids new vocabulary first and then do reader’s theater or even role-play together. In addition, we encourage kids and parents to create their own books after reading “Take Me out for Fun”. In this way, we believe kids can express their creativities freely and help them to learn more through the creating process.
In order to assist our readers understand better about our concept book, we will discuss about Language use, conventions of picture book art and elements of story in the further sections.
Language use
The Imagery That the Words Constitute
When we read stories formed words by words without any pictures, it is very natural for readers to create their own interpretation of the stories. They will hardly be identical among readers’ imagination, since everyone has different experience and value of life. The forming imagination from the words that readers create is a process of scene embodiment. The scene embodiment, simply speaking, is that readers are the film directors of the story. For readers, the scene embodiment has two major significances. The first one is the pleasure of creativity. What readers basically get from the words from books is only black words and white space. However, the black and white turn into a series of images, sounds, and experience related to the story of readers’ own imagination. This imagination puts readers to be parts of the story and readers witness everything happens in it. Second, it arouses readers’ emotion spontaneously and readers will feel how the words perform it. This has to do with personal experience. Take the words in “Take Me out for Fun” for example. While readers read the words “Patrick takes the ball out. Billy, let’s go out for fun. Where should we go?” Many children or even adults will come to their experiences of playing with their favorite toys. Here for kids the emotion may be very happy because they think they are playing with their own toys; for adults it could be kind of sad because of reminiscence of childhood. What readers will feel how the words arouse their emotions is mostly hidden or unspeakable, but, this is the impact and power of the words bring to readers and the pleasure readers receive. Nevertheless, “Take Me out for Fun” is a picture book. The words itself are not enough to have the strong effect of scene embodiment, but the slight effect is still good for kids to create their own imagery.
The Story That the Words Tell
Language is the tool for human beings to communicate and express. Words are the medium. In books, words are used to tell everything either in general or in detail. We have to remember the words are not simply printed on the paper, the words itself are voices. Readers have to get the voice out through reading. Generally the voice tells readers the beginning, middle and ending of a story, of course. It also makes the differentiation of characters’ personalities and feelings. Readers learn those from the voice they hear. For children books, the story is brief and straightforward. “Take Me out for Fun” is only 20 pages long story with only a few lines. This is quite different from adults’ stories which are usually complicated and implied.
The Meaning That the Words Convey
Earlier we mentioned that the words are the voices to tell stories. Moreover, the words are meaningful voices. The voice is a way toward philosophy which pushes kids to think and understand life. Maybe applying this to “Take Me out for Fun” is a bit serious, but this is what it is. In this book, we talk about friendship. The soccer, Billy, meets new friends and still maintains the tie with Patrick. All through this journey Billy is happy and enjoyed. It conveys the meaning of being positive, friendly and loving. Additionally, it reflects to real life situation, so kids may think and adopt what they read in books. Here our intended audiences are 3 years old and under. For them to think philosophically is too early, however we think this will be a good starting.
The Emotion That the Words Deliver
Normally every book has its own emotion in the story. “Take Me out for Fun” is a combination of picture book and concept book. We have a very simple story in it. The story is going on with an atmosphere of delightfulness and warmth. Being joyful and harmonious can be felt in this book. The form of dialogue delivers the emotion of friendliness and fun. As a whole, the words part tells the relationship between Patrick and Bill is full of cherish, friendship and love.
The Senses That the Words Show
The words show the sense of touch as Patrick picks up the ball, the sense of hearing as the ball lands and rolls into the water, and the sense of sight as everything the ball meets. “Take Me out for fun” is a concept book for young kids to learn new things. We assume our intended audiences are not literate or fully literate. It is adult’s job to read it for kids. In our lines, we come up with plenty of positive feelings, actions, and dialogues. These going with the senses are able to help children to learn and experience after reading it, and then imitate and practice for fun.
The Rhythm and Rhyme
The two main sentences patterns in this book are repetitive as the dialogues take place, such as,
“Hi, boy.”
“Hello, my name is Billy. Who are you?”
“I am sun. What are you doing?”
“I am flying over the sky.”
and,
“Hi, my name is Billy. Who are you?”
“I am a trash can. I am a branch. What are you doing?”
“I am fooling around.”
We have two sentences patterns alternately to emphasize the language for children since it is designed as a concept book. The new friends Billy meet is replaced as coming to next page. It can be left blank for kids to fill anything they like to for them to practice. As for the rhyme, we do not create the perfect rhyme intentionally because, first, it is very difficult, second, it will not really accord with our content, and finally, we want to repeat the same pattern more than making rhymes. The repetitions of sentences pattern create a rhythm for stanzas.
Conventions of picture book art
Line
The lines of objects like the soccer, the sun, the clouds, and the trees are circles and curves that suggest amicability and coziness. For example, the objects that the football meets are friendliness, such as the sun, the clouds, and the trees, and their facial expressions are affability. Besides, the places that the soccer goes like home and the park are coziness. Furthermore, the lines of the movement are curves and zigzags that suggest security and rapid movement. The soccer falls from the sky and down on the ground. Thus, the soccer falls with high speed, and it is safe on the ground. On the other hand, horizontal lines suggest the distance, such as the view of the park, and height, for instance, there is a fine view of the sky from the window.
Space
The use of the space in the picture book is not crowded. Most of the pages contain a lot of space surrounding an object. Readers will know where to look and feel easy to read the picture book. Space can create distance, for example, the wide space of the sky, the ground, and the view of the park is created the feeling of distances. However, space can create emptiness. There are no birds and no other objects in the sky except the sun, and the clouds. There are also no animals on the ground except the grass, and the trees. Space can also create loneliness, for instance, there is no children and adults in the park and no hustle and bustle of city life. The life here is easy.
Shape
Rectangular shapes suggest limitation and agitation. For example, the soccer is limited in the bookcase full of books, toys, and the boxes, being impatient. Therefore, when the boy asks the soccer to go out, the soccer seems very happy. The soccer itself has angular shapes that suggest agitation, being eager to see the outside of the world like children. Curved lines suggest stability and comfort like the boy, the sun, and the clouds wearing a smile.
Color
The use of the color in the picture book is light, and basically has six colors, such as blues, greens, yellows, reds, blacks, and whites. Blues and greens are natural colors and suggest serene and quiet like the sky, water, and the meadow. Yellows, browns and reds are warm colors and suggest warmth and delight like the sunlight, the seesaw, the duck, and the city. The places are coziness and calm for readers. Blacks and whites suggest purity and innocence; for example, the colors of the soccer are the same as the ones of child’s clothes. Both of child and the soccer, their minds, are childish and would like to see the outside of the world.
Texture
The use of texture in the picture book is a three-dimensional surface of paper and shoelaces, such as the soccer, the sun, the flowers, the tree, the seesaw, the swing, the trash can, the branch, the pavilion, the duck, and so on. The use of the medium is folding paper, strings, and collage.
Composition and Perspective
The shapes in composition are big and suggest confidence and stability. For example, when soccer starts its journey and then meets other objects like the sun, the flowers, and the clouds, showing no fears and panic. Besides, the artist places each focal point in a big size and emphasizes the importance of the focal object. The pictures in this book are viewed from a third person, a small ball, Bill’s perspective; readers will see them from this view. The artist conveys a mood of delight in the pictures, telling readers that everything the football meets is great and with joy.
Rhythm and Movement
Readers usually read picture books from left to right, and so does our picture book. The protagonist, the soccer, begins it journey from left side of the page; therefore, our pictures are from left to right. Equally, the protagonist appears on the left side of the pages, and antagonists appear on the right side of them. Beside rhythm, when readers see the pictures, and read, and then see them again, both text and picture are in the same start and stop, and then turning to the next page. Especially, there is a little part of the objects on the top of the right pages in our picture book. Let children guess what they are in the next pages.
Page Layout
All the pictures are on the same side of the page, and they are the same size. For instance, pictures are on the right and left side of the page. The focal point of the objects will be large in the pictures. The placement and size do not vary from page to page. Each picture is all one page, and leaves a little space around the picture.
Painterly Techniques and Graphic Techniques
The use of painterly techniques in this picture book is watercolors and crayons. Watercolors are used as the medium to present smooth pictures. For example, the colors of the sky, the grass, and the water are soft. Readers can easily feel the beauty of the nature. Furthermore, crayons are used as the medium to emphasize the objects such as the sun, the meadow, and the swing, and also crayons are added the on the pictures to emphasize the degree of the color like light or heavy.
Picture and Text
As all have been mentioned above, the pictures in this storybook alone with its text creates an authentic and interesting atmosphere for its readers. The graphic pictures help kids to concentrate on the story. Simple dialogues help kids to learn vocabulary and how to greet with others while reading this story. In addition, there is one clue conceal on the right up corner of each page. This clue intends to tell readers what they will see on the next page. For the reason that we would like kids have more fun when they are reading “Take Me out for Fun”, we purposefully make this clue as small as possible. Therefore, when adults are reading this story to children, they can easily cover these hints and let kids take a guess of what is going to happen on the next page.