When looking into this project I decided to use some of the childrens books that we have in the house. There is something that is just so different about holding a physical book in your hands rather than just looking up an illustration on a screen.

I have been reading through Children’s Picturebooks ; The Art Of Visual Story Telling by Morag Styles. I have been really enjoying learning more about the history of illustration and more about the history of childrens picturebooks and those who write/wrote them. I find it very inspiring, seeing all these different books and different styles. I have been reading as much as I can about illustration recently, it has been a very helpful way of researching and studying whilst in lockdown with my little one.

Simon Sock – Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet – Illustrated by Nick East

I looked at these two books ‘Simon Sock’ and ‘Best Friends’ as examples of modern picture books and what appeals to children today. Looking at the covers in particular, they are both very bright and eyecatching. They are also very stylised and the illustrations feature a lot of texture.

Best Friends – Mara Bergman and Nicola Slater

I think that Best Friends looks very influenced by mid century illustration and I really love that. In the illustrations in both of these books the characters have really large expressive eyes and features – I think this helps the children reading understand the characters emotions better. The text in both of the books is just as expressive – moving around the page and the voice lines are often next to the character speaking them – they aren’t tied to the bottom of the page, I think this is more fun for children to read as it feels like the words are actually a part of the pictures.

The Tiger Who Came To Tea – Judith Kerr

I already researched childrens book illustrators earlier in part 4 but I just had to mention Judith Kerr and Quentin Blake again – both of their work is just so good! I absolutely love the way it is so fun and feels like there is so much to see. Every single time I re read ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’ I am instantly transported back to being a child – there is just something so exciting to me still in the part where they all go out for tea after the Tiger has eaten all the food and drank all the drinks. I think a lot of these books are very clever because they appeal to both children and parents for more reasons than just nostalgia.

Quentin Blake’s ABC

I think the main thing that I take from this research is that the main theme in these books is for the children reading to have fun. There is so much going on but it is still clear enough to understand and to learn from. I really do have so much to learn but I feel really inspired, especially after reading Childrens Picturebooks. I think it is so nice to learn more about the people behind the books and how they got to where they are now. I would love to have more fun with in my own work – really create more of a sense of energy and freedom, and something that children would like to see.