Blog # 4: Characteristics of picture books

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 The books that I choose are “Last Stop On The Market Street” by Matt Peña and illustrated by Christian Robinson, “Dancing Hands” by Margarita Engle and illustrated by Rafael López, and “La Princesa and the Pea” by Susan Middleton Elya and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal. I considered them to be picture books because they include different characteristics of picture books. The characteristics these books have that makes them picture books are:

·       That both words and illustrations contribute to the story’s meaning. Pictures integrate with the text. 

·       The books are 32 pages.

·       Multiple levels of meaning

·       Words are carefully selected to set the mood and create vivid images.

·       Memorable and well develop characters.

·       The writing is in a rhythmic style.

·       Illustrations and words are carefully selected to demonstrate what the author and illustration are trying to show.

·       Story line is clearly develop.

·       Images in the books enhance the narrative rather than just mirror the text.

 

“Last Stop On The Market Street” by Matt Peña and illustrated by Christian Robinson has three awards. The awards are Caldecott Honor Book because of its illustrations, John-Newbery-Medal because of its message, and Coretta Scott King Award because it’s a recognition of African-American illustrator that reflects the African-American experience. This book is about a boy called CJ and his nana. During the entire story CJ always complaints about everything there are doing. But his nana shows him that there are always beautiful things to look everywhere they go. For me, the main message of this book is to always keep a positive attitude towards life, to care of those in need, and that we can always be happy with what we have, that we do not need extra things to be happy.

 

“Dancing Hands” by Margarita Engle and illustrated by Rafael López, won the award of Pura Belpré Award because it’s a recognition of Latina author and Latino illustrator whose work represents the Latino cultural experience. This book is about a little girl called Teresa Carreño who loves to let her hands dance around the beautiful keys of the piano. Teresa had to leave her home country which is Venezuela in order to escape from a war. She never lost the love of letting her hands dance in the piano’s keys. She inspired of a lot of people to feel good after they heard her play. Teresa was invited to play at the White House when Abraham Lincoln was the president of the United States. Teresa use her great gift to play a song to the grieving family. Her dancing hands make the Lincoln family to feel happy for a moment after their sons lost. After that moment Teresa felt certain of playing, since her dancing hands were able to remove pain from those people that heard it. The main idea in this book is that we always have to keep trying to reach our dreams. That God gave to us a gift that we can share with other people in order to make them feel better.

 

“La Princesa and the Pea” by Susan Middleton Elya and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal, won the Pura Belpré Award for its illustrastion. Because its Latina illustrator whose work represents the Latino cultural experience. This book is a fairytale about a girl, a prince, and the queen. The queen did not want the prince to marry girl because she thought that she was not the right princess for her son. At the end the girl demonstrated to the queen that she was worthy to be a princess. The main idea to this book is that we cannot judge a person by how they look, that we cannot jump to conclusion. 

 

I believe that this three books are considered picture books because the images interact with the text, the words they choose give a message, the books are 32 pages, etc. These picture books are great to be read to our children in the classroom since they can teach them a lot of good lessons , prepared them for the future, and also for fun. I love the art in the three picture books because they connected with the text, they show vibrant colors in order to catch the eyes of younger readers, and they actually represent the culture of the story.

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