Anatomy of a Picture Book: Elements of Book Design
Anatomy of a Picture Book: Elements of Book Design
Format/Size
• Rectangular—This is the shape of most books
• Horizontal—Often used to in stories about journeys
• Vertical—May be used for “larger than life” characters o Cohn, Amy L. Abraham Lincoln. o Isaacs, Anne. Swamp Angel.
• Cutout forms—cutout in the form of buildings, animals, etc.
Book Jacket/Dust Jacket
• Think of a book jacket as a small poster wrapped around the book with flaps on the front and back. o Originally used to keep books from being soiled o Now used to be eye-catching, to encourage you to pick up the book
• Should be appealing from a reasonable distance through its form and color
• Provides important information about the book o Title o Author o Illustrator o Should predict the contents of the book o Should convey the age group for the book o Back of book jacket normally includes the book’s barcode with ISBN (International Standard Book Number) number, a unique number to identify a book.
• Jacket areas o Face—front that faces us as the book is closed and lies on the table
Is the picture on the cover repeated inside the book or is it unique? If the cover is repeated, it anticipates the plot of the story.
Does the cover contradict the story? Is the cover mystifying?
Cover may reflect most dramatic or enticing episode in story. However, the cover should not tell so much that it destroys the suspense of the story.
Is the cover framed? Framing creates a sense of detachment. o Back—back of the jacket should relate to the front
Consider how the book jacket flows from the front to the back
When the jacket is flattened, the design should be homogeneous and consistent
If you want to be a collector of children’s books, protect the book jackets by covering them in plastic. o Wrap-around cover—uses one illustration that wraps around from the front to the back o Book flaps—include background information about the book. May also tell about the
Format/Size
• Rectangular—This is the shape of most books
• Horizontal—Often used to in stories about journeys
• Vertical—May be used for “larger than life” characters o Cohn, Amy L. Abraham Lincoln. o Isaacs, Anne. Swamp Angel.
• Cutout forms—cutout in the form of buildings, animals, etc.
Book Jacket/Dust Jacket
• Think of a book jacket as a small poster wrapped around the book with flaps on the front and back. o Originally used to keep books from being soiled o Now used to be eye-catching, to encourage you to pick up the book
• Should be appealing from a reasonable distance through its form and color
• Provides important information about the book o Title o Author o Illustrator o Should predict the contents of the book o Should convey the age group for the book o Back of book jacket normally includes the book’s barcode with ISBN (International Standard Book Number) number, a unique number to identify a book.
• Jacket areas o Face—front that faces us as the book is closed and lies on the table
Is the picture on the cover repeated inside the book or is it unique? If the cover is repeated, it anticipates the plot of the story.
Does the cover contradict the story? Is the cover mystifying?
Cover may reflect most dramatic or enticing episode in story. However, the cover should not tell so much that it destroys the suspense of the story.
Is the cover framed? Framing creates a sense of detachment. o Back—back of the jacket should relate to the front
Consider how the book jacket flows from the front to the back
When the jacket is flattened, the design should be homogeneous and consistent
If you want to be a collector of children’s books, protect the book jackets by covering them in plastic. o Wrap-around cover—uses one illustration that wraps around from the front to the back o Book flaps—include background information about the book. May also tell about the
Bibliography: Harms, Jeanne McLain, and Lucille J. Lettow. “Book Design Elements: Integrating the Whole.” Childhood Education 75.1 (1998): 17-24. Education Full Text. Wilson Web. Livingston Lord Library, Moorhead, MN. 28 Aug. 2005 http://hwwilsonweb.com/. ___. “Book Design: Extending Verbal and Visual Literacy.” Journal of Youth Services in Libraries 2.2 (1989): 136-42. Horning, Kathleen T. From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children’s Books. New York: HarperCollins, 1997. Matulka, Denise I. “Anatomy of a Picture Book.” 24 April 2005. Picturing Books. 28 August 2005 http://picturingbooks.imaginarylands.org/. Pitz, Henry C. Illustrating Children’s Books: History, Technique, Production. New York: Watson-Guptill, 1963. Troy, Ann. “Publishing.” CBC Features. July-Dec. 1989. ©Carol Hanson Sibley, August 2005