The Paperboy

The Paperboy is a picture storybook about a young boy and his dog that recounts their morning routine of delivering papers. As the rest of the world sleeps, the paperboy rises to prepare the newspapers and ride his bike throughout the neighborhood to deliver them. The paperboy enjoys this time he has alone in the world as everyone else sleeps. The illustrations in The Paperboy are very important in extending the plot. The text of this book is short and simple and does not provide many details. The illustrations are absolutely essential to the full experience of this story. There is a stark contrast in the simplicity of the text on overwhelmingly detailed illustrations. Without the pictures, we would not know what the paperboy looks like, where the story is set, or how it begins, as the first scene of the book has no text at all. Interesting asides are also revealed through the illustrations, like the nightlight in the hallway, the detail in the objects in the garage, and small animals hiding in the shadows.
There are no white spaces anywhere in this book (including the text), which makes the changes in color and the choices in color tools for interpretation. The color and medium help establish the mood. The dark and mellow colors, and soft lines provided by painting, sets the calming tone of the story. Color is also a key indication of transition. For the most part, the illustrations are done in darker, subdued colors as the paperboy wakes up and begins his morning route. As the sun starts to rise, the sky is painted in jarringly bright colors. In this scene, lights start to shine through the windows of houses, showing that the paperboy is no longer alone as the people wake up and start to begin their day. As the world wakes, the illustrations become much more vivid and colorful, perhaps suggesting that the subdued hues and peace of the early morning are now disrupted by the chaos of the now awake