From: Janice Del Negro <delnegro>
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 13:47:07 -0500 (CDT)

Picture books are a challenge for any reviewer because they require a commentary not only on text and visuals, but on how the text and visuals work together.

While I agree that an art background is a good thing to bring to the evaluation of a picture book, I think a background in children's books in general is equally if not even more important. It is quite possible for an accomplished reviewer with little or no formal art training to concisely and concretely review a picture book, just as it is quite possible for an art major to make a major hash of the whole process.

It is easy to be blinded/impressed by the technical virtuosity of some over-produced picture books, no matter what your background or experience. A broad exposure to children's picture books- those that are critically well-received, those children respond to, and the many that fall into both categories- helps us recognize those titles that manage to find that graceful, difficult balance between text and illustration that results in a distinguished whole.

Janice M. Del Negro

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books GSLIS/University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign delnegro at alexia.lis.uiuc.edu

On Tue, 22 Sep 1998, Kathleen Horning wrote:
Received on Tue 22 Sep 1998 01:47:07 PM CDT